Kidnapped
by Kaiser dude
Summary: Most of the canon characters' personalities changed, and a number of them took different human villagers for themselves. This is the story of each human villager from their perspectives and their new lives. OCs, but the story changes perspective to a different OC every 2-3 chapters on average. OOC obviously, but varying levels of OOC. Plays on narrative. Tentative title
1. Reimu, days 1 and 2

A/N: Clearly, this is just a story written for fun. As before, it's an attempt in a new style. This one's going for 'POV' in the eyes of humans around Gensokyo (Human village humans, not big-name character humans). Also, as obviously implied from the title, most canon characters will be Out Of Character to fit certain archetypes of personalities. Also, names used for the kidnapped human villagers are created on the spot. If there are existing characters, in real life OR in another series with the same name OR names of others' OCs that I'm not aware of, then this is coincidental.

* * *

"_I've been hearing about many of the big names around Gensokyo taking one of us for themselves from the human village... I never expected Reimu Hakurei to take me_" I thought to myself as I assessed my predicament.

My name is Yamato Haru (last name, first name), a local resident in the Human Village. There's nothing special about me as far as I know, so I'm assuming Reimu became a youkai and kidnapped me for a snack. This begs the question of why she didn't eat me now. The pickle I'm in is this; I'm currently under Reimu's arm, her flying me back towards her shrine, and I have no idea what's going to happen.

Simple huh? I wish it was, but she seemed adamant about taking me instead of anyone else; if she wanted to eat someone as a snack, she could've easily grabbed one of the nearby people while I was running. Instead, she chased me around the human village, eyes locked onto my every move, and dragging me away.

I don't know what happened to the other kidnapped villagers, but I hope they didn't get eaten or killed for fun. That was my hope, but this IS a predominately Youkai world, so the odds are... quite low.

* * *

At her shrine, she had me confined to the grounds; I couldn't leave the shrine without her permission, and even then, without her being there to take me to wherever SHE takes me.

"You are NOT leaving this shrine without my permission, Haru Yamato" Reimu began lecturing me, "If you so much as THINK about anyone else, I'll make sure to beat those thoughts out of you!"

She was quite adamant about what I thought was her wanting me to be faithful to her.

Hold on, I really don't think she's the type to say anyone's full name after kidnapping them, and then treating them like pets... this doesn't really make much sense to me why kidnapping a specific human in the village would be worth the effort.

All I could do right now, much to my dismay, is appease her.

"Alright, Hakurei-san" I replied with a sigh of defeat.

To be honest, I didn't have much of a choice, since she's already focused on making sure I, a random human she took an interest in for whatever reason, made sure to follow her rules.

Speaking of which, when I noticed a child-like figure drinking what I assumed to be Sake, I brought this to Reimu's attention.

"Hakurei-san... who's that child over there drinking Sake?"

Asking this question was the first mistake, unintentionally, that I made after being kidnapped. Reimu grabbed my shirt threateningly, and seemed really upset that I asked about someone else.

"Don't you **DARE**... ask about anyone else... unless I say you can talk to them... and even then... only what **I** say you're allowed to talk about with them"

I was afraid of her at this point; not only because of the threat, but because I knew from the exaggerated news reports from Aya Shameimaru

I heard about this kind of treatment from Hieda no Akyuu; extreme feelings of possessiveness. She told me that a few of the humans from the outside world were kept against their will and treated as pets instead of individuals. When I asked about who those few people were, their stories were surprisingly detailed at their day-to-day life; confined to a room or house, fed at times when their captors felt like it, and denied a social life outside those their captors allowed.

Hieda no Akyuu told me about people like those; they're the worst people you can ever be with. Not only because they are extremely possessive people, but most of them DON'T treat their captives nicely in any way.

I question my case since there's some Tsundere tendencies in her behavior. After she let her anger intimidate me for asking something I don't know, she brought me inside and prepared tea and a few rice crackers. She didn't seem to behave as badly as those overly possessive, neglectable people I heard stories about, but I was sure she was going to become one of them soon.

Why the case of her choosing to keep me over the other human villagers, I don't know, but I'm going to have to play my cards right if I'm going to survive.

* * *

The day went by, and it's now evening hours. The girl I asked Reimu about... she and Reimu came up to me, and I was afraid for whatever might happen.

Fortunately, Reimu sighed and spoke calmly.

"Introductions are in order, this is Suika Ibuki. She's a resident here at my shrine, and a heavy drinker. You are forbidden from talking to her without me being there; she's off limits to you, and who knows what you'll do to her when I'm not around and she's passed out"

Clearly, this is a case of paranoia on some level, and a blatant stab at the 'men being sex fiends' thing that was a bad joke or stereotype back in the human world.

Suika looks no older than 10 years old, so others might see me as a pedophile if I got in a relationship with her. Not only that, but she's an oni. There's no way I'm risking my life for inter-species romance, and I don't plan on it since it IS just wrong when someone else looks at it.

"I won't get involved, Hakurei-san; she isn't my type anyway"

I made this clear to her both honestly, and to appease her; it was a win-win answer based on my preferences. Reimu isn't exactly my type, but Suika is out of the question, and her telling me not to get involved with Suika is no big deal for me anyway.

She nodded approvingly, and continued the introduction, while keeping me in check so I don't open ANY possibilities of interest to someone else.

I introduced myself to Suika, and then clammed up before I introduced myself any further; I don't know what Reimu WANTS me to talk about with others since I don't know her that well.

Suika, naturally, couldn't follow everything, but did hear my name; although saying it back was slurred due to her nature as a drinker.

Normally, I would ignore her, but all I did was acknowledge her attempt.

This introduction was rather... scary... considering my situation. There was a saying "walking on eggshells", and that would describe me right now, as well as anyone else who might be abducted by the strange behaving girls of Gensokyo.

* * *

Reimu began barking orders to me to help out around the shrine, mostly to help her sweep up, serve her tea that she taught me how to make in her style, and the occasional donation (not that I had much before abduction).

It seemed my new life was about to begin... as a captive of Reimu Hakurei... but I don't think this new life of mine will last too long.

Her barking orders at me wasn't so bad, per se, but it was more of her tendency to glare when Suika gets near, whether the oni's drunk or even sober (rare case), as if paranoid that I'll contradict what I told her.

I keep pushing Suika away, but she seems to be coming back to me, like a child wanting to play with their caregiver.

"Please, Ibuki-san, go away. Hakurei-san will not be happy if you're near me"

I said to her as nicely as I can, almost nervous as to what might go on in the shrine maiden's head.

"Eehhhh~? I wannnd yoo tooo fight wid me~!"

She responded rather ineligibly.

Reimu, upon hearing this, flew at Suika, and began a melee fight. Normally, I would find this to be a losing situation for anyone that fights an Oni, but Reimu's holding her own. I heard about the time her shrine got destroyed a few years ago, and she was on the war path to kill, but held her own against a celestial, a time-stopping maid, a vampire, and an Oni... and lived to tell about it.

But right now, it seems she stopped Suika from trying to get me to fight with her.

It seems my earlier conception of her becoming a youkai might be false, as she seems to be the same human Reimu that she was known for being.

* * *

Let's cut ahead to evening; most of my day was general shrine work; helping to maintain the place, spending time with Reimu, who seemed to be alternating between calm and aggressive.

The calm moments were when Suika was gone and it was just me with Reimu, and the aggressive moments were when some other girl comes around.

"Hakurei-san... why me out of everyone else?"

I asked her rather straight-forward and bluntly one moment while we were eating rice cookies for dinner.

She looked my way rather sternly, glaring for a while.

This was rather unnerving for me, and I felt like I stepped on a landmine when I asked her that.

To my surprise, however, she sighed and gave me a straight answer.

"You're rather hopeless, and I can't stand it. How do you expect to get by without someone watching your back..."

"_Tsun-tsun moment_"

I thought to myself as I listened to her explanation as to why me of all people.

"...and another thing; you really shouldn't be taking your life for granted; it's sickening. I get enough from Yukari, so dealing with a hopeless person is even harder on me than dealing with her"

Her long explanation seemed to have come to an end.

"_Definitely tsundere for sure_"

I was very sure this was her personality, but I couldn't imagine a tsundere being active in trying to claim her territory with this much effort.

"Haru-kun, I know you've liked Tanaka Miyu, but I just heard she was taken by someone else, similar to your case. She's as good as dead to you, since I don't know who took her, or how she'll be treated. For right now, you focus on me, and I'll keep you safe; make me angry, and you won't be alive for long"

She said to me after the long explanation for why me over the others.

Wait, did she tell me the girl I liked before was as good as dead!? This was rather depressing news; I was sure I protected her when the big-name girls ransacked the village for us humans. No, I was sure I hid her at the one place I was sure nobody knew about in the human village; the cellar I built below my house.

If what she said is true, then my suspicion of Reimu started up. She couldn't have... but the nagging feeling I had was pulling on me to find out if it was true or not. However, asking if she did what I feared would most likely end up with my death if I asked.

I'll have to wait for the chance when she takes me to the human village, IF that ever happens, to find out for myself. Sneaking away to check is out of the question since I don't know how to fly, and I don't really know Gensokyo that well.

"I see... thank you for telling me that"

I said to her, feigning my sadness, complete with the sad facial expression.

If I am to find out anything from her, confirming her words or not, I need to be careful with my actions and words; if she is also that other personality, then I CAN'T do anything unnecessary or risky. Until I'm sure of that first, I need to play it safe.

* * *

Late night, and I'm in my own room. Unfortunately, Reimu snuck in, half awake, feigning innocence, and holding me close to her.

Normally, this would be the best thing for a guy; being held close and affectionately in bed by a girl, but I'm not that lucky considering my fears of her personality possibly being, aside from tsundere, and whether she's doing this on purpose or not.

Again, another risk here that could end in my death if she somehow gets upset.

On one hand, I'm happy she's holding me close, head near her breasts, but on the other hand, I need to keep it safe and not wake her up.

The personal feelings I have for bliss are conflicting with my survival feelings. I don't know what to feel in this situation. If I succumb to my personal feelings and snuggle with her, who knows what she'll do to me, but on the other hand, if I play it safe and try to get out of this temptation without disrupting her, she might get upset in her half-asleep state.

To risk death and take advantage of this opportunity, or to play it safe and try to get away slightly so I'm not in the immediate danger of death... it's hard to make the choice right now.

Things only got worse when she really brought my head closer to her chest, and the temptation was harder to resist. Had I been absolutely sure Miyu-chan was dead, I might've used this opportunity for comforting myself to avoid this sorrow, but since I wasn't sure, I had hope she was still alive, and needed to remain faithful to her until I'm sure she's dead. Cheating on someone who might be alive is as bad a crime as cheating on someone you KNOW is alive... at least to me anyway.

This was starting to become unbearable, so I did the closest thing to a compromise as I could; I turned around so my face isn't up in her breasts. This wasn't a sure-fire solution, but it was close enough for me to help stave off the temptation for potential suicide-by-pervertedness.

The half-asleep Reimu didn't notice my shift in position, so I think I lucked out this time.

I remember in stories how less dangerous situations similar to this were; a guy, with a new girlfriend, sleep in the same room one night, but she makes it clear for no sex. Unfortunately, she sleep-walks into his bed and cuddles with him. She wakes up first and beats him silly for being a pervert without listening to his side of the story.

While I lucked out for the night, I would have to hope I wake up first, or risk ending up in a similar situation the stories I heard went like; waking up to a beating and being called a pervert, without the fault being the guys'.

There's also the temptation behind me, but I should fend that off reasonably by not seeing it should I open my eyes at any time and see the room in front of me.

* * *

Morning came, and I'm thanking whatever gods or goddesses are out there for letting me wake up first.

First order of business was for me to get out of the danger zone, this being close to Reimu in her sleep. Her grip on me was firm, but I wiggled my way out to safety without waking her up. Honestly, I can't believe my luck at times for letting me escape situations that are potentially life-threatening. This wouldn't be a life-threatening situation in a normal relationship or with a normal girl, but I'm dealing with Reimu, who apparently has an unusual personality that I know can kill me if I mess up somehow.

If I'm lucky, she'll think she woke up in the wrong room as sleep-walking night. I know the chances of that are low, but it's the only way I can feel to be a safe situation for the moment.

Suika seemed to be up early as well, but she's passed out already from her sake. I ignored that and headed to the lake behind the shrine to get myself ready for the day.

The second day as Reimu's captive was about to start, and I'm not sure how it's going to go. Whether her tsundere tendencies are there, or if there's something else behind that farce, I really can't take the risk to find out lest I risk angering Reimu.

Sadly, my safety zone was at risk again, as Reimu appeared behind me so suddenly while I was splashing my face.

"Gah! Hakurei-san!"

I almost though I was dead from a youkai appearing, but it turned out to be just Reimu.

"It's Reimu to you, Haru-kun. Hurry up and get ready; we have a lot to do today... Finding Tanaka-chan is one of those things we'll do first. After that, I need to go around, making sure there aren't any incidents"

This schedule Reimu told me was a surprise, especially the first thing on the agenda.

"Wait, finding Miyu-chan? I thought you told me she was as good as dead"

I asked back.

She looked away with frustration.

"It's not like we'll find her, but if I heard wrong, then she might still be in the human village. You know where she lives or wherever she might be, so you check those places and then we'll figure out what to do from there... This is for your sake, so don't push your luck; I needed to check on that rumor I heard"

She muttered again.

"_Yet another Tsun-tsun moment at the end_"

I thought to myself upon hearing that.

Well, this is somewhat good news, and it might be too good an opportunity to check on that fear I had last night; whether Miyu-chan was dead or kidnapped, or not.

Well, I couldn't answer without feeling myself being put down, so I just nodded my head.

"Finish up, and we'll leave immediately, you hopeless individual"

"_Calling it; another Tsun moment_"

With that, Reimu left after telling me to wrap up my morning wake up routine. I just returned to washing my face and dealing with hygeine-related stuff.

About five minutes later, Reimu was at the shrine gates, waiting for me.

Of course, I had no way of flying, and she knew this.

"Hang on tight"

She tells me, but I knew there were plenty of danger zone areas to hold onto. Neck area might cause asphyxiation if I hold on for too long, chest area is a no-no without a girl telling you to hold her there (what girl would do that anyway?), the lower body area is not good since they're wearing skirts, which would fall down if enough weight is applied (not to mention it'd embarrass the girl if it fell off, and lead to my death either from height OR by the embarrassed girl if I survive). Realistically, the only place I can latch onto is the shoulder area, or the waist area (the latter being kind of safe since it's not in the area where clothes can fall off from my weight, but the former is her holding my arms during flight).

I took my chances with latching myself to her shoulders, and she did what I hoped she'd do; which was to secure me in place by holding my arms firmly (this might look awkward, and I think Reimu agreed), but I was pretty sure Reimu's face was saying 'why do I even bother?' as if disappointed by my choice of where to hold her.

Without even giving me a heads-up, she took off towards where I believe to be the human village. My knowledge of Gensokyo as a whole is limited to the human village area, so I wouldn't know where she was going except by her word

* * *

I was thankful for this, but at the same time, I was saddened by the sight.

The human village that I remembered... wasn't there at all; rather, it was destroyed almost completely.

"No... this can't be..."

I was in shock at seeing the once peaceful human village now in ruins.

Reimu let me off as I ran to the first place I needed to check immediately; the secret cellar of my home. I remember hiding her in there when the village was ransacked of its people.

"_Please, Miyu-chan, please be safe there. PLEASE_"

I prayed quietly while rushing to the place of my former home.

Upon arriving, sure enough, the place was a mess and destroyed. Fortunately, it was still standing, but I knew it wouldn't last too much longer if I'm to check the cellar before the wrecked house collapses.

If Miyu-chan is still in the cellar, then I better rush and get her out before the house collapses. If she's not there, then my fears of the worst-case scenario will be close to being real.

It's do-or-die time.

Sure enough, the house started creaking and making sounds of collapsing. I ran inside as fast as I could to the location in the house only I knew where the cellar was, and undid the hidden locks. This showed the trap door to the cellar, and I opened it, hoping for the best-case scenario.

To my surprise, nobody was in the secret cellar. Miyu-chan wasn't there. There was signs of her being here, and the big sign was the engagement ring I gave her a week ago on the floor.

"_How? Only Miyu-chan and I knew of this place... how could those demons know about this secret place? I made sure no youkai were following us when I hid you_"

I thought to myself.

Why did I not hide myself in the cellar with Miyu-chan, you might ask? It wasn't big enough for two people; it was a small cellar for one person and a few items; kind of like a one-person room hideout.

Either I was careless and led one of those fiends here without knowing it, or they got lucky in finding it... wait, no... that can't be... there was no signs of forced entry. Miyu-chan couldn't have willingly snuck out or opened the trap door to go with them... she knows better than that.

Well, all I know is that she isn't here, and the house was starting to sound VERY close to collapsing at any moment.

"_At least the rumor Reimu heard was true after all, even though I don't know what happened. Miyu-chan... might be dead_"

I thought to myself in my conclusion to what happened. It was then, I high-tailed it out of the collapsing house and sped to the next place I hoped she was at; her own home.

As soon as I got out, my former home collapsed, along with any chance of returning to the life I had as a normal human in Gensokyo.

Like my own home, it was collapsing; though many of the village's houses already collapsed prior to my arrival.

"Miyu-chan! Are you there! It's me, Haru!"

I shouted, hoping for any sign of her in the house.

Sadly, there was no response, so I shouted again, but making my way inside in case she heard, but couldn't respond due to a problem such as being trapped or something.

I searched the house quickly, shouting for her and keeping my ears open for any sign of a cry for help. It was kind of a race against time, since I'm in a danger zone looking for my girlfriend who I hoped was here. But... I had to give up after five minutes since searching the house any longer than that would result in it collapsing with me trapped inside. I did as my gut told me and left the house before it actually collapsed.

At this point, I gave up on the idea of Miyu-chan being alive for now. If she was kidnapped, she would surely be dead by now. My love life with her is over; I was convinced she was dead; she was safe in a secret location when the big-names of Gensokyo ransacked the village, and was gone after the raid was over.

Knowing this... depression came over me like a ton of bricks being dropped from above; so suddenly, and so harshly.

The one girl who liked me for who I was... dead. I have to get over it soon, but I'm in shock at the realization of what happened, and the evidence to support the reality.

"_Time to find Reimu and get out of here; I'm afraid there's nothing left for me to live for now in a world where the unknown and fear of the unknown are constantly present now that the only safe place is gone_"

I thought to myself before going back to find my captor. However, to my surprise, Reimu was just around the corner, looking for me.

She asked what I learned, and I told her everything I found out.

* * *

On our way back, I thought back to our discussion.

What I told her about Miyu-chan... the story lined up with the rumors she heard perfectly. Miyu-chan was either kidnapped, or killed, with myself believing the latter due to the engagement ring I found at the place I hid her.

I don't think I'll be able to recover from this heart break any time soon. It won't matter how Reimu treats me now; I'm as good as dead on the inside.

Reimu landed back at the shrine to drop me off, but I slumped to the ground, laying there like a lump before Reimu reminded me of the rules before heading off again.

"As I said, you are NOT to talk to anyone that comes by. If they are here to see me, tell them to come back in the evening, and that's it. I'm going to check around Gensokyo and make sure everything's in order"

After telling me that, she took off.

I laid there like a lump, looking at the sky with emptiness and nothingness.

It was a good enough time as any to reflect on the situation instead of pretending to be dead.

What I knew so far was Tanaka Miyu, my girlfriend who I became engaged to a week ago, apparently died. Reimu kidnapped me, but tried to do me a favor by taking me to find her with the hope for me to find the opposite. That failed, and now I'm a stagnating person who lost the will to live.

This is rather pathetic, I know, but I can't help it if I was the outcast among my friends, and opened my heart to the one person who understood the me beneath my pathetic 'normal'-like personality, appearance, or whatever.

I couldn't believe it when I learned Miyu tried to defend me one day; I thought she was one of those rare girls who tries to get to know the 'real' you. To me, she was a god-sent angel, and my first real friend. We got to know one another, and eventually became intimate. The bullying stopped, and became cheers of support for our relationship. It was a miracle by itself for all that to happen. I soon fell in love, on the level of marriage, and became engaged. A week later, this happened, and now I'm alone again. Reimu kidnapped me for an unknown reason, which I assume to be her pet of sorts.

That's my story as to Tanaka Miyu and I, and why her death made me a pathetic lump that I am now.

Well, I began assessing what I needed to do now, and make the choice for my future right now; do I keep living feeling sad and being pathetic, or do I survive and live for myself and for Miyu-chan? If I was to live for both our sakes, I would need to get out of the danger I'm in first, and that's extremely unlikely considering Reimu's pretty much the boss of Gensokyo, and would get everyone to hunt me down if I ran away.

Still, if I'm to stay alive, I might as well follow Reimu for now. Chances are she'll want me for herself, but I won't let her replace Miyu-chan... ever. Miyu-chan was very important to me, and I'm not going to let anyone take her place as my bride-to-be. If Reimu is hinting at her wanting me to look only at her, she needs to discover the 'real' me that Miyu-chan did. Otherwise, there's no way I'm going to see Reimu that way, even if she forces me to look at her with the same eyes I had for Miyu-chan.

That is my resolve, and I'm going to live by that. As long as Reimu is unable to penetrate this personal barrier of mine, her chances of making me liking her as a love interest are 0% at best.

Yes, I think with this reflecting, I can probably cope with the situation better now. I'm no longer a coward; I will make sure I survive, and protect the memory of Miyu-chan as much as possible.

Getting up, I might as well get started as the shrine's keeper if I'm going to be her captive. No, not just a captive; I might as well learn how to defend myself so I can help Reimu. I'll be strong to hold my own... and with any luck, I hope to be able to win my freedom from her in a fair match.

Danmaku, how hard can it be? I see them do it all the time, I saw Keine-sensei fight back intruders at almost late night several years ago when the moon looked fake. Hell, she even told us that we could do it too if we put our minds to it by channeling the magic around us as a source of magic instead of using the magic that they were born with.

If I'm able to master this, I could be like Marisa, but not as successful; mastering the basics of danmaku is the first step if I'm going to live my new life

"_Time to get started_"

* * *

Over the course of the day, I pretty much kept the shrine organized and tidied up, and keeping away the occasional pests who keep asking to see Reimu.

As instructed, I told them to buzz off and come back later when Reimu returned. The first pest was Marisa.

I wanted desperately to ask her for danmaku lessons, but I knew Reimu would be pissed at me AND at her if I asked Marisa. However, I kept to my word and drove out the witch against my personal desire to ask for training.

The next pest who appeared was Yukari. I told her to buzz off and come back later, same way I told Marisa, but I knew better than to force her out; I'd let Reimu do that once she returns. So, I left her alone after relaying the message.

The pests kept coming, and I kept pushing them away with the same message to come back later.

I was already determined to keep living, but I don't want to open up to anyone; that's why I was strict in telling them to get lost. Yukari cracked one joke saying I have become similar to Reimu before everyone changed.

Of course, since that was Yukari, there was a high chance that she was BS-ing that part of me being similar to Reimu. I shrugged that off

"I am NOT like Reimu at all. I'm being the 'me' that I chose to be now that every big-name bitch out there wrecked the peace of the human village. I **HATE** you youkai for destroying our peaceful life, and I'm saying this as nicely as I can to warn you"

Hissing, sort of, at Yukari, I made my point VERY clear.

Yukari was NOT intimidated at all by my anger, but laughed at it.

"If you hate us, can you actually show us? You're all bark but no bite. How can you possibly be a threat to us youkai?"

Clearly she was looking down on me.

Much to my dismay, she was right; I'm just spouting anger without any actions to back them up.

"Try again IF you're able to stand up to me, and MAYBE I'll consider your hatred towards us more seriously"

She laughed it off before gapping herself out of the shrine.

"_Pathetic gap hag, looking down on those inferior to her. She's not worth my time right now considering the bullshit she makes Reimu go through, and us too_"

I cursed to myself mentally at the helplessness I was feeling.

No, I don't want to feel this way... ever 's why... I'll take help wherever I can to take control of my life back.

* * *

(A/N: Just the first of two chapters for the Reimu section of this story. Yamato Haru (last name, first name) quickly adapted in less than 24 hours of being kidnapped, but I hope this isn't the case for the other human villagers. His personality was that of an outcast, which I know all too well, so it was easy for me to emulate and incorporate as his character. It's also somewhat unpredictable in critical times, so him taking a 180 in personality change could be one possibility. I'll leave it at this for now)


	2. Reimu, days 2, 3, and 4

Author's Notes: Still narrative, still with Reimu's victim, Yamato Haru (last name, first name), and the perspective will change next chapter to the next girl's victim.

WARNING: Scary end for Yamato Haru (last name, first name)

* * *

Earlier today, I made a promise to myself that I would try to reclaim my life. I'm going to do just that with help from the only person I AM allowed to talk to; Reimu herself.

Unfortunately, at this time, the shrine maiden isn't here, so I'm stuck at the shrine being the message boy to tell the pests to come back at a later time.

My heart will remain closed for now until I gain my freedom when I can start anew. I know that's a long ways off, but I'll wait until death or freedom before I open up to anyone. If Reimu wants to force her way in, she'll need to do what Miyu-chan did; try to get to know the 'me' that I couldn't express to everyone; a scared boy who is afraid of being rejected. A coward, essentially.

* * *

Cut ahead to evening, when Reimu returned from whatever she was up to.

"I'm back, Haru-kun"

Reimu announced as she returned. Her tone of voice sounded like 'I'm back, but I don't really care', something I know is a tsun-tsun style of 'I'm back!' for a friend returning.

"A couple pests showed up; some witch, an annoying hag that just pisses people off with her attitude, and a kappa"

I informed her of a few that came to mind.

"The witch is Marisa, that 'hag' sounds like Yukari, and the only kappa I'm familiar with is Nitori. Sounds like the others were just random youkai seeking to kill me and cause chaos. I'll deal with them when they come back, except for Yukari, who I'm sure was about to tell me of an incident she caused"

Her words were to the point this time. I could definitely feel she wasn't being a tsundere for now. She might be later, when I have to ask an important question. Now isn't the time to ask it now, unless I risk death from her irritation.

"I see"

That was all I said to her to keep the potential danger away by remaining neutral in my answers.

She shook her head disapprovingly, and muttered a few comments I knew were just tsundere moments.

"Why must you be so difficult NOW? You were a pathetic person when I took you in, and now you're just plain difficult. I should've let you die back there when everyone was taken away and possibly killed or eaten"

Wait, 'let me die back there'? I wasn't sure if that was her being tsundere or not, but it was a serious thing to say, considering the timing of when she said that.

"You'd best pick your words more carefully; death of a close one and being told to die is very tempting if told to do so shortly after learning about that. Now then, I'm going to take a rest after keeping the shrine tidy all day"

It was as close to a threat as I could make it without setting her off. Thankfully, it was sufficient to make her flinch at the scold.

"Fine... I should've just let you get kidnapped by someone else then. Who knows what she'd do to you instead"

"_That'll do for now_"

I thought to myself, a little more satisfied at her slight understanding of my shock now in memory.

"That'll do. Now then, I'll be off"

I told her sternly while taking my leave to my room.

While it was inconsiderate of Reimu to say those things, even in her tsun-tsun moments, she did back off to remember that if she was in my shoes, she would say the same. I gave her some credit for realizing this.

* * *

Late night, and I'm trying to get some sleep. Much to my disappointment, Reimu forced me to bunk in her room on the excuse of Suika taking the room I bunked in last time. I found out earlier that was Suika's room, and she was out partying with Yuugi for some reason last night. Had there been another room at the shrine, she would've slapped me with it.

Remember last night's problem with her coming to my room? It's almost the opposite tonight; I'm in her room because she doesn't want me to leave her sight.

I knew some tsunderes will do that, but... I think that's more prominent with their opposites. Demented love, was it? I just hope that isn't the case, but it began to seem that way with her telling me to bunk with her, on the second night with her.

Of course, I'm in a separate futon than Reimu's, and to be honest, I'm not comfortable being in the same room as her. Had I been in an intimate relationship with her, maybe I would've considered it not that big a deal.

The same problem last night is happening right now, except I'm still awake. Reimu got out of her futon and moved it closer to mine.

"If you have a problem with me sleeping near you, then you can go ahead and kill yourself. I felt like sleeping next you, so don't get any ideas"

She said as she readjusted her futon.

"_Tsun-tsun moment, but it's not a moment I want to deal with yet_"

I thought to myself.

"Fine, fine. Get close and I'll keep an eye on you tonight, Reimu-san"

That's what I said back to her.

"Reimu to you, Haru-kun"

I really had a hard time following what she's really asking me, but I can handle the tsundere moments for now, but the occasional opposite moments, I hope I never set off moments that cause those.

"Alright then. I'll keep an eye on you, Reimu. Good night"

When I said that to her, correcting myself, I could hear a satisfied sigh, and could tell she nodded with a small smile on her face as she finished adjusting her futon close to mine.

We slept almost literally back-to-back, a couple inches apart from one another. This was uncomfortable for me, sleeping close to a girl I'm not in an intimate relationship with, so I think I'll keep it safe and remain this way.

Facing away from her, and her facing away from me while she practically forced herself close to me, that was hardly a good enough reason for me to suddenly turn around and get perverted with her; the danger of dying was still present, and unless I am able to fight on equal footing like Reimu, Marisa, and all the other big-name Gensokyo girls, I NEED to play it safe to stay alive. Until then, I need to grit my teeth and bear the bullshit I know I'm in for.

My train of thought was interrupted again, and for the same reason as last night; Reimu, in her sleep, turned around to embrace me from behind.

Dammit, another night of this? I really don't feel comfortable with the pleasures of a girl unless I feel I earned it, and even then, the temptation to turn around and fondle her breasts was present again. It's kind of a predicament; to embrace the desire and risk death, or fight off my desire and live the next day.

Obviously, my survival was important, so I opted to ignore the warm feeling that was pressing against my back. It was hard to stop myself from turning around, but I had to do it to stay alive.

Another opportunity for me to be myself, gone up in smoke for the sake of survival.

And so, the night passed, with me trying to sleep while ignoring that feeling most guys would kill to have even for a moment.

* * *

This time, Reimu got up before I did.

There was no feeling of pain on my body, so I think Reimu might not have realized the situation in the morning if she woke up half-asleep. That's probably a good sign if luck saved me from the beating due to the morning blues.

Reimu should be washing up at the lake behind the shrine if I recalled correctly from yesterday. Whether she tried to seduce me last night or not, it'll be dangerous to ask her that directly.

All I could do right now was get ready for the day myself.

In doing so, I also went to the lake behind the shrine, but further away from where she was; she was directly behind the shrine, so I was more off to the side, next to where a giant turtle was sleeping was.

It had facial hair, which was unusual to me, as I've never seen a turtle like that.

"So, you found Genji. He's a friend of mine since I first became a shrine maiden, and has helped me learn how to fly"

I was startled to hear Reimu's voice so close after I checked to see she was further away from me than I remember; she was a ways away from where I was washing.

Upon hearing her voice so close to me, I jumped in surprise, splashing my clothes instead of my face.

"Gah! Reimu! Don't scare me like that; I hate it!"

I really told her off for startling me like that.

She chuckled softly and began to tell me about the turtle.

"Genji, that turtle you found, lives here behind the shrine since he retired as the Hakurei guardian. Nowadays, he and I talk about the past, and he brings me news from Makai..."

She began talking about herself and Genji, and how the two of them solved incidents before as a team. While this was an unexpected side of Reimu, it was surprisingly interesting to hear about her past.

However, there was still this emotional barrier I put on myself to avoid getting too attached to someone, especially Reimu. That would be the situation that caused me to fall in love with Miyu-chan. Yes, I'm dead set on this. The 'me' that fell in love, is not the 'me' that I am now; Reimu has to find that 'me' before I answer any of her advances onto me. Until then, we are just going to be difficult to one another.

It was then that her explanation of Genji came to an end, and how they were a team in her early days as a shrine maiden.

"Sounds like you two went through a lot before you became independent yourself"

I replied after hearing the explanation.

Reimu folded her arms and looked away.

"I told you about myself, now tell me about yourself; it's only fair"

I should've expected something like this; someone talking about themselves, and then asking to hear about the other person.

Well, it's not the way I wanted to start to know Reimu, but it's a start nonetheless.

"If you went specifically after me, you probably already know enough about me to want to take me in..."

I began, hoping to take a jab at whether Reimu knew about me as much as she doesn't let on. If she hints at knowing more about me than she lets on, then I may be facing that other personality I dreaded from the stories I heard from Akyuu.

As I explained to her a bit about myself, and my life prior to the human village ransack, she seemed to have the face of 'I know', and in her tone too.

While I talked about myself and answered questions she had (asked without purpose, since she seemed to be asking them to try and get me to open up to her), she seemed to have already known the answers before I answered them, but never letting on that she knew them already.

I tried to avoid the questions about myself as much as possible, especially the ones about my real personality as a coward. That kind of knowledge Reimu has to earn, not demand.

With this in the back of my head, I answered most other questions she had about me, most of which were pointless to even answer.

Thankfully, the sleeping turtle, Genji, woke up and greeted the two of us.

"Ah, you must be... Genji-san. Reimu's told me about you and her in her early days of being a shrine maiden. My name's Yamato Haru"

I introduced myself to the turtle, and I think I'm safe when I glanced over to Reimu for a moment. She seemed content with me talking to Genji, as if she allowed it without saying a word.

Genji introduced himself, and then looked over to Reimu. He seemed polite, and I knew he was relatively old in human years from the sound of his voice.

He then relayed news from what he heard last night to the shrine maiden regarding Makai, a place I've never heard of until Reimu mentioned it as 'news from there'. Still, I began to wonder if Makai was another part of Gensokyo that Reimu is forbidden from entering or something.

A long while passed between the three of us talking about various things, Genji being rather curious about me, and Reimu catching up with him about Makai-related news.

* * *

Let's move forward to the start of the afternoon.

"Reimu. While I feel this is not possible for me, I would like training in danmaku so I can be able to fight back youkai as much as possible"

I asked her rather bluntly while we were snacking on rice cookies. Actually, her response was rather amusing.

She looked at me as if I was crazy, and chuckled.

"You? Learning danmaku? That's rich..."

Then came the laughter from her.

"... do you really think a non-magic user can actually use danmaku, magic bullets, essentially, without having any form of magic knowledge!? You really are an idiot!"

I don't think this is a tsundere moment; she might be laughing because there might be no way for a non-magic user to use magic of any kind.

"It's impossible huh?"

I muttered, looking away with embarrassment.

At this point, I was really starting to feel standing up for myself, especially to show that hag to never mess with humans, was now impossible.

"You are an idiot, you know that? It IS possible, but you lack the knowledge of using the magic around you to do that. Learning that without any knowledge of magic whatsoever is something only my friend, Marisa, was capable of doing because she learned under Mima's teachings, and even then, it was because Marisa's ability to use magic was dormant when she was taught by Mima. I don't know if it is possible for you since you have NO magic abilities dormant like Marisa did"

Hearing this, my head perked with interest at hearing it's POSSIBLE. However, like my feeling of helplessness before, I frowned upon hearing the reason Marisa was able to use magic; hers was dormant, and was brought out by Mima, a vengeful spirit I heard to stay away from at all costs by Keine-sensei.

"Is it possible, Reimu, for a non-magic user to learn how to use the magic around them to use magic around them similar to magic-users?"

I asked her seriously. If she says it's possible, then I NEED to get started on trying to make it happen immediately. If she says it's impossible, then my resolve to stand up for myself would be shot down.

Of course, her answer regarding this serious question would determine part of my future.

Reimu looked directly in my eyes, and I could tell from her reactions that she saw how serious I was about this.

"You probably can't, but you just leave the fighting to me. I will protect you from the others. All you need to do is be a good boy, and I'll keep you alive..."

If I know her behavior by now, this is where she switches to Tsun-tsun mode.

"... though you should probably start with the scrolls I have in my room; they should give you more information on how danmaku is used, so start studying if you're serious about moving up from useless to somewhat useful"

Yup, even if not a direct tsun-tsun moment, I still called it.

"Very well, I'll get started right away; go deal with whatever incidents are out there, and I'll probably still be studying by the time you get back... not that I'll be of any use by then, and even then, you'll probably look down on me for trying"

This time, I decided to be a dick and act tsun-tsun myself to the tsundere shrine maiden.

"Hmph, fine"

A tsundere pout scored from her. Looking away after nailing what she WOULD consider me to be, she had the look of 'dammit, you got it right'.

I'll admit, it felt good to return the tsun-tsun back to the tsundere, and let them have a taste of their own medicine (their contradicting actions and emotions).

Reimu, now knowing my plans for today, took off to go around Gensokyo and do whatever it is she does nowadays.

There haven't been any incidents lately, so I assume she went out on other business.

I better do my part and learn if it IS possible for me to use the magic around me as a form of magic itself.

* * *

Moving ahead a few minutes later, and in Reimu's room. I had her permission to find something specific and study from it, so going into a girl's room is not an issue for me this time.

The scrolls on danmaku basics were on some shelves in Reimu's room. This would be my second time in here (first time being last night, and that was due to Reimu's insistence for her possible other personality I feared was in place), so it was a little easier to find the scrolls than if I didn't know what her room looked like.

I skimmed through the first scrolls I found for a summary of what each one is about, but I found out they're not exactly organized; the first one I found was advanced tips and small drawings on how to carry out danmaku combat. This scroll I would have to remember for a later time when and if I find out if I CAN use danmaku.

Another scroll I began skimming through was about the basics of danmaku for beginners. This I would hold onto for now, but without knowing HOW danmaku is formed, created, or used, it's not going to do me much good.

The third scroll I skimmed through was unrelated, but about the Hakurei lineage. I don't think Reimu would've wanted me to go through it without her permission, so I closed it up quickly, and set it back where I found it.

The next one was about the Hakurei Orbs I heard about when Reimu goes out on an incident. It was surprisingly detailed about it's functions, history, and who were capable of using them in the Hakurei lineage. Like the previous scroll, I figured Reimu wouldn't want me to go through it without her permission.

Fifth scroll, and this one was about the danmaku system Reimu placed on Gensokyo when she became the Hakurei shrine maiden. This one might be relevant to me understanding the danmaku battles, but nothing here on HOW danmaku is made. I put this aside to look at later.

The sixth scroll I picked up was the answer to my prayer at first, but I need to go through it before I can call it a miracle; it was about the basics of danmaku as a concept, and in practicality. This was the scroll I went through first.

It turned out danmaku is just magic, in small quantity, given a physical form and shape, and thrown at others as a sort of 'game' which everyone calls a battle. While this was confusing at first, I made the analogy of danmaku being like paintball; it's water, but given a shape in a container that explodes upon impact. Danmaku, from what I read, functions similarly, but not the same as a paintball bullet. One side is the 'boss' which has heavy resistance to the other side's danmaku, and the other side is the 'player' in which case one bullet hitting a 'hitbox', whatever that means, means instant loss of life, this part scares me right now, and needing to use another life to continue the battle. That part doesn't make sense to me, about how being hit is a loss of life. Is it like those guns from the human world where one bullet is usually enough to kill another person? If so, then what I'm trying to learn might kill me instead of Reimu killing me with her other personality I fear she might have.

The next part of the scroll was an introduction for magic users to learn how to danmaku. Since I'm not a magic user, this part's irrelevant to me.

The part after that, thankfully, HAD an introduction to using danmaku for the non-magic users.

This part might be able to give me a head-start on learning to fend for myself; it was explaining what I heard, but in more detail as to how to harness the magic around you as an alternative to the magic user's version.

When I tried out the methods described, I couldn't feel the magic being harnessed at first, but the scroll did say that's normal at first, but the magic IS there being harnessed. I'll take it's words at face-value for now and continue practicing this 'pseudo-magic' as I call it.

While it seemed like I was getting nowhere, the scroll was insistent on the magic actually at work, and it will take a while before non-magic users start to feel it at work.

* * *

The self-training didn't show me any results, even though it kept saying the results were there. Eventually, I lost track of time, and Reimu came into the room.

When I realized she arrived, I jumped up, startled, and then it hit me that my self-training on danmaku made time fly by into the evening hours.

"Remember that hag that pissed you off yesterday?"

She asked me rather seriously.

Right now, I felt angry at remembering the condescending gap hag. However, curiosity got the better of me, mostly because I didn't want to remember her face and smug attitude.

"What about her?"

I asked against my better preferences.

"She won't be bothering you any more; I made sure of it"

Wait, slow down... if she meant that in the same way I THINK she meant it, then I'm already in danger if I do anything that COULD anger her.

"Um... how so?"

I asked rather nervously, hoping my fear isn't the case.

"That's just it; she won't bother you anymore, and if she does, you tell me about it so I can deal with her. I took you in to protect you, and I'm going to do that. We NEED humans in Gensokyo to keep the faith of youkai alive, and thus our existences. I'm still not sure how many other men are alive, but if you can help keep Gensokyo alive, then I'll make sure of that"

One part of me was glad she was thinking about Gensokyo as a whole, another part was afraid she had THAT tendency against Yukari and threatened her with those tendencies, and another part of me wasn't sure if she was being tsun-tsun towards me when she brought up the importance of humans to Gensokyo. If she was being serious about the population of humans being a vital concern for Gensokyo, then I'm sure that was killing two birds with one stone; her tsun-tsun moment mixed with the information that was relevant to me being alive.

"I have to ask; why are men important to youkai?"

This was a question I had to ask when I remembered the 'other men are alive' part of her explanation.

"They help keep human population constant; without men to keep Gensokyo's humans populated, the youkai's existences would cease to exist. You should know this if you know the first thing about youkai"

I don't think this was a tsun-tsun moment; it was serious.

"I see"

That was all I could say, now that I learned one reason she picked me to 'take care of' in that sense.

"How much did you learn from the scrolls?"

She asked me suddenly, trying to change the subject.

I better report my progress right now.

I gave her a summary of what I thought I learned, though I made it clear of my doubts of learning anything to hint at progress; I tried the basics the scrolls were detailing, but didn't see any results that were noticeable even though the scroll said otherwise.

Reimu facepalmed upon hearing my doubt, and said she'll measure my progress if I show her exactly what I learned.

I gave up at this point, and went along with it, doing the 'imaginary danmaku magic harnessing' lessons I tried, then threw the 'supposed' magic towards her, expecting nothing to happen.

To my surprise, Reimu stepped to the side as if to dodge a bullet.

Seeing her dodge told me the progress WAS real, and that I haven't realized it yet. It seems I haven't figured out how to SEE the danmaku I made yet.

When Reimu approached me slowly, I feared I was going to get killed or something. However, when in close range, she told me something I didn't expect.

"You made quite a lot of progress, even if you don't realize it. What you did was harness the magic around you, but without a visible shape.."

Wait, visible shape? Did that mean I fired an invisible danmaku bullet that could look like anything or in any size?

"... and now you need to come up with a shape for the danmaku to take the shape of in order for it to become visible to you. Didn't you read ALL of the scroll on danmaku basics?"

This was definitely a scolding, but it can be argued since I haven't read all of it; I only practiced what I could as I read the scroll.

"No, sorry"

That was my response to her, and I bowed in apology.

As expected, she lightly whacked my head with her gohei.

"Geez, you're hopeless..."

As if I haven't heard that enough times, in whatever variation I hear from you.

"Just think of a shape you want your danmaku bullets to look like, but make sure it's reasonable in size so that both sides have a fair chance at dodging each others' bullets"

I did as instructed, and thought of a shape I thought looked cool for me.

Reimu then began to focus on something, and it seemed she extracted a copy of the shape of the danmaku bullet from my head and materialized a danmaku bullet of her own, and changed its shape to the image I had in my head.

The danmaku bullet I saw in front of me was the same exact shape as the one I was thinking of; it was shaped like a ring, and yellow in color. Similar to the rings one would wear if they are getting married, or a ring one would wear to show off wealth.

"There, that's your danmaku bullet you'll be using from now on"

She said this to me as she handed the bullet and pressed it to my body, which it seemed to be absorbed into me upon contact.

I felt the area where the bullet was absorbed into me, and I couldn't feel it any more.

"Try to make it appear from the magic around you. If you see the danmaku you created, then you have learned everything in the danmaku basics scroll you were just reading"

She ordered.

Without a choice, I did as told, and tried to harness the magic around me into forming one danmaku bullet in front of me.

Unlike my previous attempts and resulting in nothing, it actually formed a visible ring-shaped danmaku bullet in front of me.

"I see it. The one I created. I guess the doubts I had about that scroll are gone now"

I muttered at seeing the results of what I believed to be a waste of time.

"Don't get too excited; danmaku requires a LOT of those bullets to be fired at a time and at a constant rate if you want to defeat your enemies. The scrolls will only teach you so much, but it's just giving the basics of fighting, and the advanced techniques are also for newbies into the advanced methods of danmaku fighting..."

"_Here comes THAT part of her now_"

"... but most importantly, you really should leave the fighting to the experts unless you want to end up dead li-..."

Okay, she stopped mid-sentence, and I think she realized what she was going to say.

"Anyway, just leave the fighting to me. It won't be good if everyone else is possibly dead, and you also end up being the last human guy to die; that'd cause a catastrophe, and an impossibility for Gensokyo to remain existing"

Again, tsun-tsun hidden behind the words of truth; I could tell that much.

"I see. Sorry for troubling you with my request to learn something dangerous like this"

I apologized, now realizing how much effort she puts into danmaku fighting, on top of managing the world as a whole to keep peace, as well as being the go-to person for problems. My understanding of Gensokyo was limited, but I think I can safely say I'm going to do what I can now to help her out.

Danmaku battles seem hard enough now, but I have no idea how to fly, and I don't think I'm ready to ask if I can use a similar technique to fly using my 'pseudo-magic' ability now.

'Pseudo-magic', it's a term I made up for myself to explain how a non-magic user like me is able to imitate magic usage, except instead of using magic in the same way the others do, I use the magic around me to make danmaku.

"Don't worry too much about it..."

She began, but took out one of the Hakurei Orbs she had that was compact-size and handed it to me.

"... but hold onto this; just think of me when you need to get in contact immediately, and use it like a telephone. This will be our means of communication if you're really serious about trying to defend yourself"

I took the mini Hakurei Orb and pocketed it.

At this point, even if she won't admit it, she is starting to see me as a potential assistant. I think this is her way of trying to get me to look at her as friends for now, and then me opening up to her later. The personal barrier I set up will be broken down eventually, but I will acknowledge the first step in our friendship.

Hakurei Reimu... it seems I will be working with you soon enough.

* * *

That night, unfortunately, the same problem as always; Reimu sleeping in the same room I am, but this time, she made her room mine as well, in the sense that I HAVE to sleep in her room, but close to her. Fortunately, not WITH her, but close to her.

It's easier for me to resist the temptation of turning over and burying my face in her chest, but until I know for sure I'm ready for Reimu to be my girlfriend, or fiance, I need to keep my distance as far as possible without risking death from her unhappiness.

Still, if Reimu is like this BEFORE the sudden change of personality the day the ransack happened, then I think I might like this side of Reimu.

Wait, what am I even considering?

If this is an unintentional opening into my heart, then I need to straighten my thoughts for considering that to be a cute side of her for right now. Had I considered it IF we were intimate, then perhaps I would gently bring it up as a topic.

For right now, I put aside that thought and focused on trying to get some sleep while ignoring the warm sensation on her breasts on my back. Had it been Miyu-chan, I would've snuggled close to her, but it's Reimu. She can't take Miyu-chan's place, even if she forces me to look at her the same way Miyu-chan did. The engagement ring I have... is proof of my love for Tanaka Miyu, even if for a short while. I won't ever forget you.

"... Harruuuuuu..."

I heard Reimu talking in her sleep. I would find this cute, but I need to keep my thoughts in check if I'm going to rediscover love in my own way.

* * *

The third night passed without too many problems, but the temptation of finding her at-night habits cute were just as bad as the advances she made on me in her half-asleep state the first night at the Hakurei Shrine.

Now it's morning, and I need to start working on putting my danmaku skills into practice.

I asked Reimu to help me out at a beginner's level, which the gave me a hard time about before agreeing to helping me learn. The hard time part was definitely a tsun-tsun moment for sure.

This morning, she trained me on the lessons I would've learned from the next scroll I would've looked at for danmaku training.

She didn't let up on the training at all, and it was starting to make me lose hope on possibly being able to hold my own and be Reimu's partner in incident resolving. I can't be useless if Reimu, despite her contradicting actions and emotions, took me in to save me from whatever caused the ransack.

If she did do this for my sake, then I need to pay back the favor.

She shot danmaku my way, and instructed me to dodge. Doesn't sound so hard, right?

Wrong.

What she shot my way was at speeds I thought only Aya could reach. I was fortunate to react at the last second, but the danmaku bullet of hers really left a painful scratch.

"That was grazing the bullet. A 'close call' bonus that hurts at first, but you'll eventually become used to the pain and continue fighting"

Reimu informed me as though meaning to kill.

"Hold on, I'm not ready for the hard stuff, Reimu! Please, I'm asking for the basics!"

I asked her, clearly intimidated.

"Too bad; if you want to be able to fight with me during incidents, you need to be at your best, and be able to handle danmaku at speeds like that at any given moment. Did you think Danmaku battles were about shooting visible air and it being all fun and games? It's a serious matter, Haru-kun"

She answered as though I hit a landmine.

"Danmaku isn't all fun and games huh? It's like war that the human world goes through all the time?"

I asked again.

"Exactly"

She answered again, lightening up now.

Now, she had me practice dodging again, except she shot a few danmaku bullets my way at a slower speed than before, which was alright for me to get the hang of.

I'm thankful for her loosening up and now being more cheerful instead of her intimidating demeanor a moment ago. The lessons continued throughout the day.

* * *

The training lasted all morning, and into the afternoon.

I was tired from all the training on the first day, and in a few hours. Honestly, I felt I was actually going to die with the advanced-level training she threw my way instead of beginner-level training I asked her help on.

"Can't we call it a day on this training, Reimu?"

I asked her nearly while out-of-breath. I was leaning forward on my knees, tired.

She just looked relentless when I asked her that, but then eased up with a sigh.

"Fine, we'll continue tomorrow. Just make sure you're ready tomorrow morning; if you can't learn as much as I expect, you won't last long trying to fight alongside me"

As she said that, she put away her ofudas and gohei.

I sighed a breath of relief at the break she gave me.

In all honesty, I would prefer to take things easy, and learn slowly. However, I don't think Reimu wants me to learn slowly.

That was, until one of her friends, Kirisame Marisa arrived on the scene.

"Ya-ho! Reimu~!"

We heard her announce as she flew down.

"Don't bother Haru-kun; he's not yours to take from me"

Reimu threatened Marisa quite aggressively.

Wait, did she call me by my first name in front of her best friend? Really? We aren't that close yet, and she's already...

Wait, is this another sign of that dreaded opposite?

"Oi, Reimu, I'm just here to see you, no need to get so defensive, ze~"

My limited knowledge of people's interactions told me she wasn't lying , and that she might be safe from Reimu's other tendencies for now.

Upon hearing that, Reimu's guard was lowered, and she calmed down.

"Haru-kun, prepare some tea for us"

She told me, but I gave her a grunt and said 'fine'.

She has her image to keep, and I have to respect that, not that she has anything to boast about.

So, in my defeat, I went to work to get the tea ready.

* * *

It's now evening hours.

Much to my fear, I was on edge, and so was Reimu since the majority of questions from Marisa were about me in comparison to her own captor. Rather, she Marisa was talking highly of her own captive being more useful and having more 'balls' than I do. Marisa's captive was a girl whose name I wasn't familiar with, personally, but I think I knew that name from people shouting at hearing she stole from one place, and the goods aren't found until someone notices the stolen goods found somewhere else in the human village.

This conversation was scaring me, not for my sake, but for Marisa's sake. I could tell Reimu didn't appreciate me being compared to this other human that Marisa's talking highly about.

Actually, I'm surprised Reimu's managed to keep her cool so far thus far.

Reimu was starting to lose her cool, and I could see her twitching violently.

"Marisa... I've been calm about this, and I let you have your fun... but there's only so much I can take when you talk badly about Haru that way... Marisa... don't you **DARE** call him useless!"

Yikes, calling me by my first name without the honorific at this point, I think she's VERY serious about whatever she's going to do, and I am hoping, in vain, she's not about to do what I hope she's about to do.

Marisa's her best friend, and I don't think best friends would kill one another over something stupid like this, would they?

Unfortunately, it did.

Reimu took out her Gohei, and a handful of ofudas, pointing them threateningly at Marisa.

This I KNOW for sure; when girls fight over boys, the fights can get ugly. If one is on THAT personality, expect casualties.

Reimu was starting to show signs of being that other side too; the one personality I dreaded the most; Yandere.

If she IS one, hiding behind a tsundere outlook, then yes, I'm fucked... not only in a literal sense, but also I'm fucked because any HOPE for independence from her is out of the question. Yanderes DON'T let their loved ones go.

"Oh, you going to defend that lump who can't do anything except keep the shrine clean while you're gone? What's he going to do, offer himself to any visitors, and get in bed with the other girls for donations?"

Oh no Marisa DIDN'T just say that.

"Kirisame-san... if you knew ANYTHING about me, that would NOT happen at all. I've already had a girlfriend BEFORE that human village ransack, and I still remain faithful to her even now when she's dead. Men, while perverts at times, do NOT stoop that low. You disgust me, Kirisame-san"

I made it clear to her I was disgusted with her taunt, but Reimu, surprisingly, nodded in agreement.

Unfortunately, that would work against me.

"Haru's right; you don't know anything about him, and looking down upon someone else without any proof of doing so is just asking for trouble. If you're going to insist on him being useless in front of me, Marisa... expect to be dead in a few seconds. I'm not joking here"

The threat sounded dead serious; I have never seen a yandere in action before, and I'm pretty positive I don't WANT to be on the receiving end of the 'yan' part.

* * *

The next few moments... were seeing Marisa and Reimu go at one another, both in danmaku, and in melee. The fight was way more brutal than what I heard from Keine-sensei; instead of regulated fighting, Reimu was fighting with the intention to kill, while Marisa was just aggravating Reimu with petty statements of comparison.

When it died down, all I could see left was... Marisa's limp body; lifeless.

"Worthless thief got what she deserved after all these years of harassing everyone"

There's NO mistaking it; she's a yandere for sure; the one thing I feared the MOST in my life. It was enough to break my calm demeanor, and make me fear Reimu... for life.

"W-w-w-w-w-what th-th-th-the h-h-hell..."

I was clearly flabbergasted from seeing the sight.

She dropped her gohei on the ground and moved the body behind the shrine.

I was... horrified... now that the yandere Reimu has come out in plain sight. Truth be told, I don't think I'll ever live for Miyu-chan's sake now... I might be forced to be Reimu's; forgive me if I can't can't remain faithful... I'll make it up to you in death.

* * *

Night time...

I was back to being broken.

Unlike the nights before, where I COULD resist somewhat, Reimu didn't LET me resist. No, she made me embrace her, romantically, much to my fear. Had I shown any resistance to her advances onto me, she would threaten me with death, and THEN love me 'affectionately'.

Truth be told, this is the worst kind of love you can have; scary love.

It seems... my life from here on out... is with Reimu... against my will... until death takes one of us apart (against me since I have to 'love' her back to keep myself alive).

Yes, I, Yamato Haru, am stuck with a yandere 'girlfriend' (I have to consider her one if I'm to stay alive, but I won't admit it to myself), who will kill me if I don't love her back.

The days went on, me living in fear, and Reimu became more active in letting everyone know she has me marked as hers.

My life of hell... has just begun.

* * *

Author's Notes: Yes, I left off here since I don't need to describe his life any further than this. Reimu, a yandere, but tsundere when she isn't set off, now OWNS her victim, and won't let him go at all.

Sneak Peek: Next victim's captor should be a shout-out to a danbooru/pixiv comic at times, but otherwise, quite ironic. It's a girl this time by the name of Suzie Starling (again, names are made up on the spot, but the name isn't what makes the irony; it's her predicaments).


	3. Alice days 1, 2, 3, and 4

Author's notes: As stated before, this is a new style of writing for me. Canon characters are mostly OOC (NOT in the humorous style that I see a lot of OOC stories go for like WillieGR, but mostly serious in nature), and the story is told from the perspective of OCs that are captives of the OOC touhou girls.. As before, names are made up on the spot for human villagers. If the names coincide with REAL LIFE people as celebrities or what have you, other series' characters, or another person's OC, then my apologies not not knowing since I'm making up names for the human villagers on the spot.

Also, we go back to the day of the Human Village ransack since the story is essentially told from the different humans after that incident.

* * *

"_Of all the girls to take me, why Alice?_"

I cursed to myself.

My name's Starling Suzie (last name, first name), and I'm currently being hauled behind Alice Margatroid by her small army of Shanghai dolls. I heard gossip of Alice having a crush on Kirsame Marisa due to an incident that happened many years ago, but I don't know the story.

There's more to this than what I just thought; I have Pediophobia, a fear of dolls. Sad, isn't it? A girl like me being deathly afraid of dolls.

As for what I look, light blue shirt, jeans, Mary Jane type of shoes, and a bob-cut hairstyle. Other than that, there's nothing else about me to note.

I'm just plain terrified for many reasons.

The human village was just attacked by many of the people who run Gensokyo, like Reimu Hakurei and Aya Shameimaru. That was terrifying enough, but for Alice to chase me around with her dolls is even scarier, due to my phobia.

Sadly, in my fear, I passed out.

* * *

When I came to, I looked around, only to find myself in a bed, that clearly wasn't my own.

"_Was that a nightmare? Have I been saved by a brave soul? Please- ACK!_"

My thoughts were interrupted when I noticed a number of dolls that I saw in my nightmare of the human village being wrecked. They were the Shanghai Dolls that helped Alice kidnap me! One other doll I didn't recognize was wearing a red dress, but that one scared me WAY more than the Shanghai dolls; it looked... like it was alive, and glaring at me, as though it wants to kill.

I think my nightmare just became a reality!

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

I literally screamed in fear, and hid under the blanket, cowering so much.

If this is real, I seriously want to go home and never leave for the rest of my life. Waking up in a room full of the one thing I am seriously afraid of doesn't help me much.

Then, a short while later, the door to the room opened, and in rushed Alice, looking like she was ready to kill. At least I assumed it was Alice who barged in, since the house was full of those Shanghai dolls.

"Where are you, Marisa!?"

She yelled as she barged into the room, with a number of Shanghai dolls surrounding her.

I was hiding under the covers, shaking uncontrollably out of fear, in denial of this being reality, and currently living a bad dream that won't end.

Actually, I was that scared to where my bladder was starting to lose control if I get any more scared than this.

I heard Alice searching the room rather frantically, high and low, but couldn't see a thing since I was hiding under the sheets.

That was, until she pulled the sheets off me.

"Eep!" I squeaked in fear after being uncovered, afraid it was that evil red-dressed doll, but it was just Alice Margatroid who uncovered me.

"What happened to you?"

I heard her ask me disapprovingly.

I perked up, and looked her straight and told her what scared me; it was the Shanghai dolls and that red-dressed one.

It's pathetic, but I really am afraid of dolls. On top of my patheticness, I've been kidnapped by a puppeteer.

"You'll get used to it eventually. That 'evil' doll isn't that evil; that's just Hourai, one of my earlier dolls I helped Shinki make before coming over to Gensokyo. Now get up; you were passed out all day yesterday after I saved you from the other girls who would've killed everyone else"

She replied after I told her why I screamed.

To be honest, she sounded disappointed in me, not that I blame her. I'm a girl, and most girls play with dolls in their early age, but I've been afraid of them because they're scary. It's the fear they'd come to life and kill anyone that scares me, but for me to be in a place where it seems like they're alive and CAN kill... doesn't help at all.

Wait a moment? I was passed out all day yesterday after being kidnapped? I can't blame myself now; I used to pass out when my classmates replace my lunches with regular dolls when I go to the bathroom. I hear the pranksters often get suspended, or headbutted by Keine-sensei. I'd be out for an hour after those pranks, and often miss an entire class period. I ask for the important parts and notes when those days happened. That was in the past when I was growing up, but not important to me right now.

"Alright... what time is it now?"

I asked her timidly.

To be honest, I'm not even sure of the time right now; it's been a scary morning, with 'Hourai' giving me the creeps, and myself now being in a house of the thing I'm scared of the most... yeah, I'm too scared to do a thing.

"It's the start of the afternoon. Marisa usually pops in and takes something around this time"

There was my answer. It was also when I looked outside to see the sun for myself. Sure enough, the sun was hovering directly over us in the sky.

That was also when I got out of the bed slowly, still afraid of the dolls around me, and left the room with her.

"Come on, let's have lunch, Starling Suzie"

She offered as she beckoned me away from the bed. She also seemed to have made the dolls around me go lifeless for now.

Nodding, I slowly made my way to her.

"Um... where's the bathroom?"

She pointed to the door across from the room I was in. I had to hurry before it burst from all this fear I was having with the dolls around.

* * *

It seemed to be late afternoon.

Lunch with Alice was... unnerving since the 'Shanghai' dolls were serving us under Alice's control. Yes, I'm afraid of dolls, and being served lunch by them was unnerving for me. The fear of them putting poison in my lunch, and not Alice's, was what frightened me, even with her assurance that everything's fine.

"Y-you s-s-seem to like Sh-sh-Shanghai... t-to have th-that many... h-helping you"

This was just something I brought to her attention to talk about... Lunch was quiet..

"Of course. I like blue as a color, despite my title as the seven-colored puppeteer. Shanghai reflects that for the most part, and the blonde hair is my style..."

She went on and on about Shanghai Doll as a concept, but hearing the concepts was unnerving. It doesn't help my phobia, but enforces it. Her explanation of the dolls makes me paranoid that she puts life into it so that they act on their own, despite her explanation of them being controlled by magic strings. It's that paranoia that they're alive, going along with being controlled, and then break off when they feel the time is right; that scares me.

"... and the ribbons used are for decorative purposes"

The explanation of the Shanghai dolls came to an end, but my paranoia was reinforced.

There was Hourai peeping around the corner, making the 'beheading' gesture towards me, and I freaked out.

"EEK!"

I pointed towards Hourai, and almost knocked myself down off my chair in freaking out. Hourai looked fled before Alice could react in time, and saw nothing. Turning back to me, my suspicion of Hourai having a life of its own was further enforced.

"What's wrong?"

She asked as she looked around cautiously in the direction I pointed. Unfortunately, saw nothing, and turned to me afterwards.

"There's nothing there; it was probably just another Shanghai doll doing some chores"

"No, it was Hourai... threatening to kill me..."

Alice stopped me right there with a finger to my mouth.

"That is impossible; Hourai is like Shanghai... both are just dolls under my control. Hourai is my first creation modeled with my mother helping me create her. Shanghai came after I became independent, and I created her with myself in mind. They are both just dolls; nothing more. They don't have the capability to have a life, though I am still experimenting how to create life to dolls"

Wait a minute, her telling me she's experimenting on how to create life just made my situation worse. Paranoia is striking again; her dolls being given life, oh God, I don't think I can take much more of this.

"You probably guessed, but I'm deathly afraid of them; the dolls that is. More like I'm afraid of dolls in general to where I can't stand it and pass out"

I told her rather bluntly.

Alice nodded, and seemed to have learned something from me.

"I see, no wonder you passed out and are so afraid"

She seemed to have changed something since the Shanghai dolls started moving away from the lunch table. When one was about to enter the room with a tray of snacks, they'd stop before getting near the table, or pass it to Alice to serve to me.

This small change wasn't big, but it helped calm me down a little. The trembling lessened, my sense of security felt slightly better, and I think I can manage with this arrangement.

"So, tell me about yourself, Suzie"

Alice asked to reciprocate the conversation.

"I'm nothing special, nor will I ever be special... I just... was bullied a lot... and had a bad experience with dolls as a child. Specifically, a living doll killed my father, and put my mother in Eientei. She's been there for 2 years, and lost most of her memories. She lost most of her memories, and raised me without ever remembering she was married, or the happiness my father gave her in her years of marriage. That murder happened when I was 7, and I still want revenge to this day. I hate dolls, but at the same time, I'm afraid of them. If I ever find that killer, I will avenge my father. Youkai or not, I just want justice for my parents"

I told her rather seriously.

"It wouldn't be Shanghai or Hourai; they are under my control. Even then, I wouldn't kill anyone. My own mother, I would probably would, but I can't since she's the only one with the power to give life. My life, however, was sheltered and..."

"...wait, what? Your mother has the power to give life?"

I interrupted, surprised at hearing such a thing.

She cleared her throat, and I apologized.

"Yes, she can give life, but that's not important right now"

I nodded, and let her continue.

"As I was saying, my life was super sheltered to where I couldn't leave, or have friends because she wanted to 'protect' me from the 'evil' of the world. The truth is, she's exaggerating the negatives of the world outside Pandaemonium, and I lived a life of ignorance. I hated that now; living with dolls, and only brought out at parties, even being told to wed someone I don't like. Yeah, I know your anger, Suzie"

Whoah, I didn't expect Alice to be like this at all; I always pictured her to be the calm, imaginative type who has a great number of stories to tell when she stops by to play them. I never though she also had her share of troubles similar to mine.

I took a bite of some fish crackers she offered to me, dipping them in Earl Gray tea before biting them, and listened to Alice's story.

"As for the killer doll, I heard stories of one like that, but I don't think it's the one that killed your father. Even I'm looking for it so I can study how it's alive. I don't recommend going after it, as you won't stand a chance with your fear. That, and I'm not sure how that doll killed your father. If he died the way I think he did, then I'm sure this doll I'm looking for is your father's killer as well"

I really question why she would talk about a killer doll after hearing my story.

In any case, I told her what I remembered about what happened 11 years ago; the day of my father's murder, with missing parts filled in by my neighbors when I learned the story from them 7 years ago.

"My neighbors heard one of the youkai were coming to attack, and warned my parents. My father took up our family heirloom, a sword that repels youkai we called the Blade of Totsuka, and fought off the doll, but somehow fell ill during the fight, and died. Mother also fell ill, but our neighbors picked up our family heirloom and fought back this doll, and drove it out. Fortunately, they rushed us to Eientei for treatment. Eirin saved me and mom, but was too late to save father. Mom wasn't fully healed when she came around 2 years later, as her illness from protecting me made her forget everything; father, her friends, her parents, most everyone except me. I lived with my neighbors for two years while mother was being treated..."

As I told the story, Alice seemed to have a look of seriousness on her face. Something tells me Alice knew this doll.

"... When I became 9 years old, I heard this story and learned everything from them... wait, you look like you know this doll" I asked after telling the story.

Alice nodded in affirmation.

"Unfortunately, we're looking for the same doll. I heard about the living doll from that incident, and searched for years for it, but never found it. Incidentally, 11 years ago was when I broke free from Shinki and lived my own life, and lost Hourai for a while. I highly doubt Hourai did it, since she was under my control back then, but all my dolls are under my control"

It was sounded exactly like I feared; Hourai broke free, killed my father, somehow used magic to erase my mother's memory, and make me hate dolls. If I wasn't so afraid of them, I would run right now and rip Hourai apart.

"I... I see"

I took a sip of tea as I listened to Alice talk about this. Although I'm really uncomfortable with talking about dolls, I felt I needed to be brave to hear all this.

I really despise Hourai right now; she REALLY wanted me dead after all the years of waiting for this; she convinced Alice to keep quiet for years about this, let her loose to kill, and now wants to finish the job she tried to do 11 years ago.

I would've had my chance right now, since the doll in question poked her head out of the door, and glared at me again, but I can't since Alice is around, and with her Shanghais around.

Hourai really seemed to hate me, and the feeling is mutual for me anyway. I just shot a 'I hate you' glare back at the doll, and she seemed to acknowledge that before fleeing back to the bedroom.

The topic suddenly changed when Alice brought up Marisa.

"By the way, Marisa brought someone who seemed to have known you, but she seemed to hate you for some reason"

Hearing this, I ran through a list of people who I thought of that hated me, but I didn't remember any names that I made mad enough to warrant hatred against me.

I was too afraid growing up, and as such, couldn't do anything to cause anyone to hate me.

"Sorry, I don't know anyone who hates me. Maybe if Marisa comes back with that person, I might know who it is"

I answered back, apologizing.

Alice merely nodded with understanding, and passed me half a sandwich she cut. Topped with an olive on top was an interesting touch, as I loved olives. I ate lunch with her and talked about various matters between each other regarding who we were.

This doll that Alice is looking for, doesn't she know that doll is right here in her house, hidden in plain sight?

I'm going to make her realize this, even if it's the last thing I do.

* * *

Time passed, and it's now evening hours.

Much to my misfortune, Alice went outside to check on the Shanghai dolls outside, leaving me in my room, with Hourai.

We glared at one another, though with little luck on my end; she'd occasionally make 'death' gestures, scaring me out of my hatred, but I'd jump right back into it and glare back.

"You may have fooled Alice, but you're not fooling me, Hourai"

I growled at her.

She pulled out a small sword, and pointed it at me threateningly with a 'Shut up or I will kill you' look.

I shivered at the silent threat, but kept my ground there.

"You may have killed my dad, and wrecked my mom, but one day, you WILL pay for that. I will make sure of it"

Hourai looked rather confused at this, and then looked like she remembered something. She shook her head disappovingly, and made the 'no' gesture.

I knew it, she's denying her activity back then.

She suddenly moved forward towards me menacingly, which truthfully started to make me fear my life; she might be trying to finish her job 11 years ago.

Pediophobia is kicking in again, and then... I fainted just as she was face-to-face with me, cleaver at my throat.

* * *

*****Dream*

I saw the nightmare again; it was that memory of the incident. The faceless, mysterious doll I remember killing my father became Hourai. Our house is a mess, especially with my mom trying to tell me not to fight.

Myself, I'm still me, but I'm fighting alongside father with my own Sword of Totsuka, fighting with him against Hourai, as I am now at age 18. This wasn't my exact memory of the incident, but I'm seeing what would've happened if it occurred today.

Hourai. The doll I hated so much... shot out some kind of strings out her back and trapped my father, somehow debilitating him to where he can't move. I tried to cut the debilitating strings, without success. It was then that I saw her rush towards father, and I rushed to fight her back, and protect father.

The Sword of Totsuka, a sword that got its name from my family for generations, seemed to have no effect on Hourai, but it worked exactly like any other sword, was holding back Hourai.

Father struggled to break free, but couldn't, even with mother's help to cut the strings and free him.

Things got worse; Hourai summoned an army of Shanghais behind her, and sent them at me as a distraction so she can get at my parents.

I couldn't let that happen; I cut down as many of the Shanghai dolls as I could, but they kept coming. Instead, I only cut down the ones in between me and my parents. I fled with the three of them towards the middle of the village and called out for Keine-sensei.

Keine-sensei wasn't in the village, and I realized it was deserted. This was bad, as there's nobody to call for help. It was just me and my parents this time.

Shanghai dolls surrounded me, and Hourai was leading them all.

Mother can't do anything, so me and father had to fight them all off with mom sticking close. She could help us by watching our bling spots, but that's about all she CAN do.

The fight lasted a long time, like a battle of attrition, but they kept coming in waves. Over 252 Shanghai dolls in a single wave, most them well coordinated, though there's one or two that are unarmed, and those blew up when attacked, so we hit one of the other dolls at it, to make sure

* * *

I woke up, thinking I was dead, but it seemed to be afternoon hours when I came to.

Alice was sitting at the foot of the bed. It seems to be the third day, and I'm already wanting out of this hellhole.

"You sleep a lot, don't you?"

Alice commented as I woke up from my fainting.

"How am I still alive? Hourai... she..."

Alice looked around, towards Hourai, and then back to me.

I looked around the room where Alice was, and saw Hourai sitting there, lifeless.

"but... she... how... sword... what?"

Yes, I was at a loss for how Alice didn't realize everything; I should be dead, or at least cut up with the sword she carried.

"Oh, Hourai uses a sword when I call her for battle. You must've seen her in action in your dream"

Alice assured me, even though it was not helping at all.

"No, last night was REAL, Hourai... she tried to kill me..."

I was then silenced by Alice.

"It was just a dream, Suzie. Hourai would never do that. If she did, I would seal her away, but that's never happening since she's just my early days' Shanghai doll."

I'm not believing any of this; there's no way it's a dream.

"By the way, Marisa's friend brought you this sword; she says it belonged to your family"

Alice said that while being handed the sword in question from her dolls.

Upon hearing that, I looked at the object she was holding, and immediately fell in shock. That was the family Heirloom that was lost 11 years ago when father failed to fight back the doll Alice and I are apparently looking for.

The sword... red... with a circle handguard... two-handed sword... I wouldn't mistake it; it's the sword my family had, and gave it that name. The original name of the sword, I don't know, but my family didn't like the name, and just gave it the new name.

"Th-this... how... it's been missing for 11 years... it's..."

Yes, I was at a loss upon seeing it.

"So my guess was right; Marisa's friend is like her, but the other way around"

Alice muttered at hearing my shock.

I was rather curious as to what she meant by that.

"What do you mean?"

"Marisa's a kleptomaniac, but her friend seems to be the opposite of that; returning things instead of stealing. I wish her friend would help me and Patchouli though; a lot of our books get stolen, sometimes I think Marisa 'borrows' things from Kourindou and never returns them until she dies"

Upon hearing that, I began to understand a little about who Marisa's friend is; if it's who I think it is, then I do know her. She's hated by some, but loved by many; a love-hate relationship in our village. I think Earth called that type of person a 'Robin Hood'.

There's only one person like that, but I don't like her personally; she stole from my family before, gave some of our valuables to other people; some of which were necessary to maintain peace between families as 'proof' of sorts. Having those 'proof' stolen, to the other families, meant distrust or even breaking off connections with them.

"I think I know who it is, and I hate her. What I don't understand, though, is WHY she brought me my family's heirloom, which I thought was gone forever"

I answered back with honest confusion.

Alice looked at me rather frankly.

"The same confusion you have right now for Marisa's friend, is the same one you have for your fear of dolls; it's misunderstood, you don't know why you REALLY hate them, but you just do..."

I interrupted her right there.

"Did you forget? The doll we're looking for killed my father, and that's why I hate them. That passed over to dolls in general. There's nothing misunderstood about my fear of dolls..."

"That's the thing right there; you acknowledge that, you understand that, then why do you have cold feet? Don't you want to overcome this fear of yours?"

She's got me there, and I can't argue with that.

"So? I'm afraid, big deal. You were afraid to leave Shinki when you were in a similar predicament under different circumstances"

*SLAP*

My face stung with pain as she slapped me hard.

"My connection with Shinki is over. I won't be going back to her any time soon. My life is what it is now; a magician, a puppeteer, and a researcher on how to create an autonomous doll, with a will of its own. Unlike you, I chose to face my fear, and confront Shinki before I left her for good. Don't tell me I'm like you"

The harsh words of reality... I can't argue with them.

I rubbed my cheek, wincing in pain at the wake up call that my problems were just as bad as hers, but I'm not facing mine the right way.

We were similar, now that I think about it. We were trapped, mostly by parent's choices made for us without our consent. Mine, however, had another issue when I was older, at 7 years of age, and that's what I have right now.

"Then what DO you want me to do right now?"

This was the question I needed answered right now.

"You have to figure that out yourself, like I did"

I was expecting a definite answer, a suggestion, anything to help me out. I'm disappointed in her big-time for not doing anything.

She got up, and left the room without another word.

* * *

I sat in the room, thinking about Alice's words seriously. I didn't realize the time had passed to evening hours.

Sadly, I realized the time change when I heard yelling in the other room.

"THAT'S ENOUGH, MARISA! I'M NOT GOING BACK TO SHINKI! I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH YOU WANT ME TO, I WON'T EVER BRING HER BACK, EVEN IF I DO PERFECT THAT KIND OF POWER!"

I heard this screaming in the other room, and went to take a peek.

Upon opening the door, there was Marisa, sure enough. Next to her, was the person I thought was who it was; Danielle Mizu.

Danielle was wearing a green shirt, and brown short shorts. Her hair was a ponytail style, like a goddess I read about in a picture book years ago, and it was blue in color. Although, last I saw her, she was wearing a black skirt years ago. I don't blame her for switching to shorts; being a thief while wearing a skirt is embarrassing if your underwear gets seen during a robbery attempt.

Surrounding Marisa and Danielle were Shanghai dolls galore. I could hardly believe Alice was being aggressive to her friend, and the Shanghai dolls were too. Had she been aggressive towards me with the Shanghai dolls and that Hourai, I would've died of fear right then and there. Thankfully, it was Marisa on the receiving end of it.

"Danielle!"

I shouted as I stomped towards her.

Both Alice and Marisa seemed to have stopped to see us argue.

"Suzie... it's been a while. Last steal from your place saved the Artel family from debt collectors, and they owe it to your 'generosity'"

Danielle muttered smugly.

"How dare you! Because of that urn being stolen, our connection with the Tanaka corporation ceased, and we were branded traitors due to their stupid rule of keeping a physical representation between families as proof of loyalty"

I blew up in her face quite much, but I think Alice and Marisa returned to their own argument.

"What's wrong with an item being 'misplaced'? Their rule sucks, and their 'proof' saved a family from debt collectors, and kept them surviving for a year. Redistribution of wealth; it's the right thing to do"

Danielle remarked with a 'I did nothing wrong' smirk.

Bull shit!

"You do realize my parents helped big name families, especially with warding off youkai, right? Because of you, my parents lost that job, and the help they needed TO fight off youkai and protect the families"

Yes, it's time I settled things with her now than to never have the chance at all.

I expected her to get defensive, but she didn't. No, she kept that smug look on her face.

"The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and die off faster than the rich. You get rid of the rich's wealth, and give it to those in need"

She walked back and forth explaining her reasons slowly, each one infuriating me even more and more.

"Survival is key in gensokyo; money makes it harder TO survive. Why should we even need it in a world where we could die at any moment by the hands of youkai? It's ridiculous enough as it is to depend on something we don't have the luxury of using in this world; there's no other human village to do business with, and the big families in the human village are so stuck up and stingy. Of course I'd take their wealth and give it to the lesser fortunate families"

She's got good arguments there, but I don't agree with them. She went on, still infuriating me with her excuses (though good arguments nonetheless).

"If you had any idea of what it was like to be in a low-class lifestyle, you'd think the same as me. I, however, took action to solve this. You were raised by equally big-name families; your neighbors. I stole from them too, and their loss saved two other families from months of hell. I left enough for them to survive a couple months too; I don't steal **everything** from my targets; I take enough to save another family for a while"

My fists were trembling, and I was close to losing my temper.

"Besides, I found your family's sword at Marisa's home. You got something out of my redistribution after I found out you were still alive"

I'm seriously, SERIOUSLY getting close to losing control and...

...wait, what? Now that I think about it, my problems with her were in the past where those things mattered most. That one realization made me stop right there, and take a moment to consider the situation now.

"Wait... WHY did you return my family's sword to me?"

Danielle sighed.

"It was stolen, and not by me; kleptomaniac over there did, and I only found it today. As I said, I redistribute things, though wealth is the biggest thing I work with"

I misunderstood her as a petty thief due to my former status as a child of a big-name family being carried over to my life before being kidnapped. None of my family affairs mattered now that they're gone.

Why should I care anymore?

I should still be upset over this, but... why do I feel relieved by one simple realization?

"..."

"Though it doesn't matter now; I'm returning stolen goods from the kleptomaniac to their owners; she can live fine without the stolen goods. Whether you hate me now or not, I won't care. I live my new life returning things since there's no major unfair distribution of wealth among the youkai world"

She said to me quickly before returning to Marisa.

The realization of me sticking to the past over this matter... now I need to wake up and change myself.

It seemed Marisa and Alice also ended their argument around the same time me and Danielle did. The two thieves left, Marisa on her broom, and Danielle by foot. Alice's dolls also seemed to become docile upon the guests leaving.

Alice was still upset, and I could tell she needed time alone. That was, until she began asking me what I was arguing over.

"So, what were you and Marisa's friend arguing over?"

"Nothing important to Gensokyo; it was something important before everyone was kidnapped in the human village; it was family affairs she screwed up that was important in maintaining peace between big-name families"

I was blunt, and told her the necessary information regarding the problem, omitting the personal conflicts I had with Danielle.

"Human village problems huh? I won't ask any further, but do keep in mind to avoid Marisa for now; she's not welcome here anymore"

I thought Alice and Marisa were close friends. What happened between them to cause her to break her ties with Marisa right now?

"What happened?"

Alice's pained expression hit her, and I think... I shouldn't have asked.

"I'll tell you later. Just go to sleep. We need to start looking for that killer doll tomorrow"

I was inclined to agree with her there; I was starting to feel drowsy, and staying awake any longer won't help me much here. She retreated to her room, as I did to mine.

* * *

Unfortunately... as I woke up, I was NOT in Alice's house, despite it being morning. I only saw two dolls; a Shanghai doll that was somewhat bigger than the others, and that Hourai doll that kept scaring me.

The difference this time... was that the Shanghai doll perked up first upon my waking up.

"Are you awake, Suzie? Please, you NEED to hear Onee-chan out; she needs to talk to you"

EEK! Shanghai talked!

"Eeep!"

Actually, when I squeaked in shock, she put one of her fingers to my mouth to tell me to be quiet.

"We're not far from Alice's place, but Onee-chan needs some one-on-one talk with you"

"H-h-how are you even alive?"

I asked her quietly.

No, this is a nightmare right now; my phobia's kicking in, and I'm close to fainting.

"That's not important. Onee-chan needs to speak with you. Alice doesn't know we're alive, but we're breaking an important doll rule. I have to anyway since Onee-chan can't speak directly"

Upon the doll saying that, Hourai 'woke up' and began trying to communicate with Shanghai

Apparently, it must be important if what Shanghai said was true.

* * *

End of chapter

(P.S. Yes, I'm leaving it here. We're half-way through this story, and I think it's rather critical I get this out before I go back to being distracted by planning out ALL the stories, which might take me a week or two to get right before I get back to writing them)


	4. Alice days 4 and 5

Author's Notes: Sorry for cliffhanger last chapter; it was kinda important then.

I have to thank Snowflames for helping me beta this.

* * *

I was afraid, and this Shanghai doll is telling me to listen to her "onee-chan". It was morning of the fourth day, and this was _not _how I _ever _wanted to wake up.

"Onee-chan wanted to get some things straight with you…" Hourai began trying to explain things to her "sister" in her own way with gestures which belonged to some kind of a sign language, and this "Imouto" Shanghai translated for me. "Alice strictly belongs to her and us Shanghais. She hates Marisa, and tries to drive her out every chance she gets while Alice is out. That was the first thing, Suzie."

"I have no intention of taking Alice for myself. I'm scared of you all, so why would I do such a thing?"

I called this Shanghai doll "Imouto" since she seemed different from the others due to being "alive" and calling Hourai her "onee-chan", not to mention her features being more life-like than the other Shanghai Dolls. The joints were not as noticeable as the others, if there were any at all; her ribbon was scaled to her larger-than-usual size compared to the regular Shanghai dolls. She essentially looked more leader-like among the Shanghai dolls. I would have called her Leader Shanghai, if it were not for that one thing she keeps calling Hourai.

"Imouto" Shanghai translated to Hourai, and I think the "evil" doll seemed content with the answer. Hourai then began "saying" things to "Imouto" Shanghai to relay to me.

"She says you're misunderstanding something, and that she hasn't killed anyone… ever." It took me some time to process the information, which was a little bit too much for me at that time to digest.

There are a few reasons why I did not faint at the moment. The first reason was because Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai were not aggressive or even _trying_ to be aggressive. Second, I needed to be strong for this. Also, I must get over this phobia soon, and with my own strength one of these days… even if it would me years, I must get over it soon.

In response to Hourai's "getting it clear to me", I was skeptical: "Why should I believe you? You killed my father, made my mother forget everything, and attacked me the other night. You are not tricking me! Never! Never again!"

I made sure to emphasize my hate for Hourai quite clear. "Imouto" Shanghai seemed to translate the message, while also stressing the hatred I had for her "Onee-chan".

Hourai covered her face with her hands and began her argument via "Imouto" Shanghai.

"Believe what you want, but I won't be killing you any time soon as long as you don't get close to Alice. I killed nobody, and I, too, am looking for that rogue doll that broke one of our important rules of never killing anybody without orders from our creators." "Imouto" Shanghai translated, and then adding, "Sorry, Suzie. I wouldn't mind you being with her, but Onee-chan is protective of Alice."

I took a moment to digest this information, understanding this "rule" the dolls had. If they were not allowed to murder without orders from their creators, was this not similar to a major crime to humans who were blacklisted or even executed for committing these crimes? Was this killer doll an outcast, or a criminal to them? I have to ask: "This killer doll… it wouldn't happen to be a 'criminal' to the dolls, would it?"

"Imouto" Shanghai thought hard on this after translating this question to Hourai. The red-dress doll answered immediately, having her "sister' translate her message: "She says the analogy is accurate, and that this killer doll had an owner before, but was abandoned. When she grew a will of her own, she broke our code and killed a human; she's a traitor to _all_ dolls, and we haven't seen her in over 10 years. I hear rumors from the other dolls in the human village that our killer might be living on a hill, surrounded by poison—"

"Wait, hear rumors? How do you even do that?" I had to interrupt there. "Imouto" Shanghai stopped her "sister" there, and relayed the question, much to Hourai's dismay.

"I hear them too, when we're in between plays, but Onee-chan hears most of them since she's used the least, and only during special occasions when us dolls are organized during rehearsal. That's beside the point though, and Onee-chan's quite angry since we don't have much time to talk alone and get this straightened with you."

"As Onee-chan said, the rumor of this killer doll being on a hill surrounded by poison. That's the only place we haven't checked, and it's not easy to traverse; the poison does that while slowing down whoever's in the poison." I watched and listened to her explanation. "That makes going there twice as bad. We'd go there ourselves, being dolls and immune to poison, but not without Alice controlling us and seeing what we can see. If at all possible, Alice would need this special mask that the humans know of to block poison from their faces so we could fight together _if_ our 'criminal' is there."

Quite the explanation Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai gave; it took me another minute to digest this explanation.

"Why are you telling me this, Hourai? Do _you_ want revenge or something against this 'criminal'?" I had to ask this for clarification.

"Imouto" Shanghai translated this, and it seemed Hourai nodded in affirmation.

"I see." I would have been out cold by then, but I thought talking with the very object I fear was probably the first step I should and I did take towards curing my phobia without fainting. It was then that I began to understand myself a little better, for I realized my paranoia and my hatred for Hourai was misplaced. She was telling me the truth, and I was rejecting it because I believed Hourai was the killer, and was set on believing that.

They tried to tell me something important regarding the doll issue, and that they, too, were trying to find a traitor among their kind, though without telling Alice. I did not know why they did not make themselves known to Alice that they were alive, but I would have to ask them soon. Hourai apparently broke a rule, and had her "sister" cooperate to get this out to me.

"Out of curiosity, what rules did you break to tell me these things?" I asked "Imouto" Shanghai to translate.

Hourai took in the question quite readily: "We can't let Alice know the two of us are self-aware; if she did, she'd lose her reason to be a magician. Autonomous dolls are created naturally, but she's trying to make one artificially. Truthfully, we want to help her, but we can't interfere with anything our creator does directly. We also can't disrupt her life directly; it's a doll code. We _can_, however, get a mediator to help us indirectly get something across to our creator, but they must _never_ reveal to them we are relaying things to them."

It sounded like a tricky balancing act, but there was one point in there I realized I _had_ to ask about.

"Wait, why are you telling me this?"

"Imouto" Shanghai, again, translated our conversation.

"Onee-chan wishes to form a truce for now, and ask for help. It's a risk for the both of us just talking to you like this, and she wants you to cooperate for both our benefits. You can get revenge, Onee-chan can be witness to justice being done to our traitor, and you might come to stop being afraid of my comrades and their friends in other places. Please, don't let our gamble go to waste." Hourai would stop being aggressive, as long as I could keep my end of the bargain in helping them find, and bring justice to, this "criminal".

No matter how I look at this, the proposition was beneficial for everyone.

"Also, Suzie, this one's from me. I will talk with my comrades about being gentle around you. I noticed you are terrified of us, and I want to help you there. I will talk to them about being more aware of your phobia, so they could understand and work around it in order to make you feel more comfortable around us. The others also agreed to keep quiet, and I will let them know to make sure they mean no harm, and will show it. Your cooperation means a lot to us if you can keep quiet about us while helping us out. Please try to work with us as it will take some getting used to for helping your fear." "Imouto" Shanghai added of her own will.

I could work with this: "You do know _why_ I was afraid, right? The fear that you were alive and wanting to kill?"

"Imouto" Shanghai took that in, and translated that to Hourai when the red-dressed doll asked her "sister". Hourai also had the answer first. "Onee-chan says it's a fear created by humans themselves out of their own fear. That gets passed around. That fear eventually became a belief, and that belief gave birth to dolls here that have their own will and life… I don't get it myself, but that's what Onee-chan believes."

I only understood half of that, and even then, I was not sure if I "understood" it the way she wanted me to understand.

"Anyway, Alice is getting close; she woke up a little while before we took you away. I just heard my comrades out there looking for us; they informed me and Hourai about her movements. We dolls are faithful to our creators, and have our own network, like humans in the outside world have their 'net' that we can't see. My comrades will guide her to us when we're done, but I think Onee-chan's done her part in asking for help and straightening things out." "Imouto" Shanghai concluded our "chat'.

"One more thing… Why did Hourai not talk to me directly?" I had to ask that now that it hit me.

"Onee-chan isn't good with humans; she means well, but doesn't know how to get along with them. I don't blame her; she was aggressive towards Marisa for making hints at an interest in Alice, or teasing her in ways that hurt her. She may not know how to be direct, and may be difficult, but I hope you forgive her for these blunders. As for the other night, she thought you were aggressive towards her, and wanted to take Alice for yourself. She did try to get help from Marisa before, but she proved to be unreliable, and didn't want to help at all. Onee-chan's putting her hopes on you, even if you can't do anything helpful, at least help us with that."

I understood Hourai and the dolls a little better after the conversation. My fear of dolls, while instinctive, might be overcome with this knowledge shared between human and doll.

The dolls would not kill, nor would they rebel against their creator. The "living" doll was a fear created by humans, and taken to a new level by another pediophobic person to where "killer" dolls became a bigger fear. The "order" was the movements the creators or owners put on the dolls. They were like an underground organization hidden from their creators with a network of their own. They had their own "code" for "living" just like we had social and moral codes of conduct. From what I understood, they could not act autonomously in front of their creators or owners; they had to work in secret, helping their owner or creator from behind the scenes. They also could not request help from their owner or risk their way of life becoming known, and causing a panic.

Alice, from what I understood, wanted an autonomous doll with a will of its own; to the autonomous dolls produced naturally, she may as well be doing the equivalent of "playing God" in human terms, trying to create artificially what had only occurred naturally. Each doll, while without a life of its own, do behave like they were alive.

"Anyway, I'm counting on your help, Suzie. Onee-chan is, too. We'll help keep you out as long as you help us. Anyway, I'll let my comrades know where we are, while we sneak back home. Alice thought Hourai and me 'stolen' and you kidnapped. We'll sneak back inside, while you try to convince her she had simply 'misplaced' us, and you got up early to get fresh air. This is Onee-chan's plan to avoid getting us both in trouble." As soon as "Imouto" Shanghai relayed the message from Hourai, they executed their plan of action and snuck back into Alice's house, while I played my part of "getting fresh air".

Of course, Hourai knows Alice better than I do, so I have to trust her word on this.

I got out of our hiding spot and began pretending to be out and about in the morning. Sure enough, a short while later, Alice and her doll army flew in to take me back.

* * *

It was the afternoon hours and Alice was bombarding me with questions about where I was. I had to improvise while make it sound believable to her: "I was out getting some fresh air early in the morning after having that nightmare again, but it was another doll this time attacking us. It was Shanghai this time, except… it was some kind of revolution where the dolls were fighting this… this traitor, and my family… my family was in the crossfire. My father was killed, but my mom was shocked and scared to the point where she developed amnesia.

"That dream was scary, but I heard voices from the Shanghai Dolls. I don't remember what they were shouting about… but it was scary… and I woke up after that, and saw Hourai and one of the Shanghai Dolls missing. I was afraid you'd panic, and I went outside to look for them. I couldn't find them, and gave up so I could take in what you said yesterday about my fear… and I realized I needed to work on that… I think I realize now that I have to force myself to spend time with them, and slowly overcome this fear." It sounded cheesy to me. I had to lie to keep my end of the bargain with the dolls, but I also told some truth without revealing what I learned from "Imouto" Shanghai and Hourai.

Alice nodded and agreed: "I see you woke up to reality. I, too, forced myself to run away from Shinki, but the first step is the scariest. You acknowledge something, you want to do something, but don't know how. You take the first step in actually doing that after you plan out HOW to do it."

"I think… I just need some time alone with the dolls… get used to them… and slowly overcome my pediophobia."

I saw Alice pick up one of the biscuits on the snack tray, and handing it to one of the Shanghai Dolls that was around. It took the snack and made its way towards me. "Let's start small and work our way up. If you can manage to interact with the doll, then it'll be a start. Can you take the snack from her?"

I nodded slowly. Behind Alice, I could see "Imouto" Shanghai winking subtly at me. Hourai was there, but I could see her looking away as though she would have blushed if she were human. She did show a sign of support with a "good luck" sign after a moment.

The dolls—Alice's dolls—still scared the living daylight out of me, but I had to be strong to resist fainting to avoid letting their efforts be in vain. Thankfully, that paid off as I understood them better, and I thought that helped a _lot_ towards curing my phobia.

I remembered vividly what happened. Slowly, I reached out to the Shanghai Doll, all the while hearing my own heart thump inside my chest like a loud pump. Every beat was like a punch to my chest, which itself constricted and tightened like I had a thousand tons of weight pressing down on it while I tried to breathe. I could notice my hand tremble and my fingers glistening with moisture. They felt deathly cold, the air around them stinging my skin even though the room was nothing but comfortable to stay in.

Still, I managed to take the biscuit, my fingers shaking little bits and pieces off of it even thought it was not my intention. The doll willingly relinquished the tasty pastry and, despite making no actual facial expression, I thought it smiled at me as I had smiled at myself.

I did it! I did it! Alice seemed to nod at this small step; even though it was a small step to the vast majority of people, but it was a giant leap for me!

"The first step, even if it's small, must be made. It's like life; you start small, and work your way up. Curing this fear of dolls you have follows the same idea. Actually, _anything_ starts small, and works its way up." Alice complimented me in her own way.

Unfortunately, this moment of happiness did not last long as "Imouto" Shanghai just had a look of pain on her face. I noticed this as well, but I have to check with her on this later. In the meantime, I have to play my part like the dolls do and wait for the right time before acting on something.

"Is something wrong?" Alice asked as she noticed my face of concern.

"No, sorry… I just thought that this start… is everyday occurrence to you, and how pathetic I am for calling this a start." I had to lie—no, _be economic with the truth—_yet again, because in hindsight what I said was completely true, just that it was not what I was thinking at the time.

"No, I understand that, and it's _not_ a minor thing to me. I, too, was afraid of dolls, but I came to realize they're not as scary as I thought they were. Now, I work with them because I love them. It may be small to you, as you think it is, but I do acknowledge the first step you took. That's a start anyone afraid of dolls will take. You aren't alone, and those that have taken that first step help others take that step themselves and work as a team." She assured me warmly.

Though I was touched with hearing that my perception was wrong, and the world wasn't as serious and "demanding perfection' as I thought, I felt as though she was comforting me despite her words.

"… What's next?" I asked her more directly.

"Try touching Shanghai. Play with this one a little. Whatever you feel suits your imagination with her."

Hold on a second. Did she say "touch" and "play"? That might be a bigger step than I can manage right now, I thought: "Isn't that a big step for me to be taking right now?"

"Nonsense! I don't know how far you want to go, and I'm taking the next step in helping you overcome this." She reassured me, though I somehow find her reassurance hollow. She seemed to have disconnected the string attached to this one Shanghai Doll, and let it fall to the table.

I thought she wanted me to understand that she would not interfere with this, and that I would eventually grow out of this fear. This precaution seemed to cater to this fear of mine, so I would not be startled by sudden movements.

I slowly poked the head of the doll, making sure it would not suddenly get up on its own, but then I remembered what "Imouto" Shanghai said: she would talk to the rest of the dolls about me, and she would persuade them to provide me support.

She reacted as any inanimate object would react after receiving a poke to the head; in fact, her head bobbed up and down a little, as if it were floating on a spring. It was deceiving me and waiting for me to drop my guard, I thought; as irrational as it might be, I could not help but poking her with my sweat-glistened fingers a couple more times, and she reacted the same way. I did not know why I was expecting something different.

My hand crawled closer to the doll. I was apprehensive. What if it was what she was waiting for? What if she would just grab my finger and snap it like a twig? What if it would suddenly whip out a knife and stab me in the face? What if…

Before I finished asking the questions, though, my hand reached its destination. I steadied my breath, even though I was once again breathing as if a thousand tons were pressing on top of my chest, and tried to steady my hand.

It was the moment, and if this moment would mean my death, then so be it!

Without a moment's pause, I snatched the doll in my hand, before I realized that she was in pain; Alice could not see her face, but I could, and she was grimacing because I was gripping her so hard that it was causing her discomfort. But even though she was grimacing, she still managed to squeeze a smile out at me.

She was supporting me, too; she was supporting me, even though I was—albeit unintentionally—hurting her. If a doll could be as courageous and selfless as she was, the surely I could do better.

"Sorry." I muttered under my breath, so quiet that Alice had to ask what I said. Smiling, I loosened my grip, and instead letting the Shanghai Doll lay comfortably in my palms. Curiosity took over, and I began looking at the Shanghai doll more closely, checking out the details I would not be able to notice at a first glance.

Some of the noticeable details were the materials that made up her clothes was the same kind of quality we use for our own clothes. Normally doll clothes would be made cheaply with bad materials, but I think Alice puts more love into her dolls than I originally thought, because from the materials and craftsmanship, she had made and decorated her dolls with love and care, as if she were dressing up her children. The hair ribbons aren't attached by design as many dolls made by humans are done to save time and mass-produce them; they're made of the same materials girls wear for decoration. The shoes she wore were made of the same leather that we would use to make our own shoes; the socks—tiny white socks that fit snugly between leather shoes and ivory feet as tiny as each other—were made with finely woven cotton, and they were thin as paper.

The hair, much to my disappointment and intrigue, was made of magic to produce an effect somewhat similar to real hair. The material of the dolls had an ivory texture, mostly, but it seems there were bits of metal used for reinforcement of certain parts hidden beneath it. The hands of the Shanghai doll were meticulously crafted to have life-like detail; I could make out each joint with its axis as thin as a needle in its fingers, as well as the ball joints between the palm and the fingers. I could even identify the imitation of nails on its fingertips, the small useless decoration painstakingly carved into the ivory to make it as close to a human hand as possible.

I wondered how much each of these dolls would cost. A masterpiece with such level of detail would surely be most coveted among connoisseurs and collectors alike, and Alice could have earned a fortune through selling them. But I could also tell from the level of detail that she had created each doll with a fragment of herself, that they meant as much to her as family. Selling any one of them would be akin to selling one of her own children, and I would never imagine her doing anything like that.

"These are really well made… it's almost… life-like… almost as if you treat them like children." I commented, having lost myself in thought and in breathless admiration of such craftsmanship.

"Of course, but each one is a creation attempt at creating an autonomous doll, all of them have failed, and I can't let them go to waste, so I salvage them into the Shanghai Dolls you see here. They were children to me, children that, though I could not see them gaining sentience, I have a responsibility to take care of because I brought them to the world in the first place." She explained, just as I suspected.

"Why _do_ you want to create such a doll?" I asked. It could be as simple as "the autonomous doll is a dream of mine that I think is worth pursuing", or it could be something much more complicated and intimate than that.

She looked to the side, frowning, and then leaned forward.

"To be honest, I wanted a friend, one that I can keep for myself. While Marisa is a friend, she isn't one I could call for help or tell my troubles. She is whimsical, and she is the worst person in the entire world to keep a secret. She is also rather dense, in the sense that she usually approach interpersonal relationships with the finesse of a fairy and can never read subtle signals from other people. That's why I'm making my own friend; a doll with a will of its own, one I can call my friend."

As I expected, it was complicated with a lot of personal reasons behind it. Somehow, I felt that she was not telling me everything, that she was hiding something from me. However, with what she _had_ told me, it was a goal worth pursuing, and if she liked it, who was I to talk about her decision?

"I see… I don't know how I'd be able to help you accomplish that, but… good luck." I said in response. It was the truth, for once; I had zero clue how I could help or if I could help at all.

* * *

The setting sun colored everything a crimson red. Alice was out on some errand, leaving me alone at her house. I had to check with "Imouto" Shanghai on something I noticed earlier.

"Shanghai? What's wrong? Was something bothering you earlier?"

She had a pained expression, and I knew it meant something was wrong, whatever it was.

"It's Marisa. I got word earlier from one of our comrades stolen years ago that she was killed. Alice doesn't know this yet, but she's heading to the Hakurei Shrine for an evening chat, which is where Marisa was killed."

Marisa… Marisa… wait, was she not the "friend" Alice mentioned in our conversation? The friend that was a little dense, and unable to keep a secret?

Alice was not going to take it well. If, as I assumed, Marisa was Alice's only friend, then her reactions would be unpredictable. If a normal human were the perpetrator of Marisa's murder…

I shuddered at the possibilities. Alice could very well shift the target of her rage onto me, and the result of that would never be pretty for me. For just a few words, "Imouto" Shanghai managed to worry me quite a bit: "This is quite a bit of information to digest for the number of words you used…"

Hourai also seemed distraught, but she relayed her thoughts and opinions through "Imouto" Shanghai, whose distress in her voice all but made it evident:"That's not all; the one who killed Marisa… and Onee-chan confirmed this several times through our doll network… the one that killed Marisa… was Reimu herself. This happened just as you took the first step towards overcoming your fear of us. I'm sorry, but please pretend you didn't hear that from us, but you should know this so you yourself won't be hit as hard when Alice breaks the news to you, IF she breaks the news at all."

It should be common knowledge for Gensokyo to know about Reimu and Marisa being best friends, and the go-to people when an incident occurs.

"This can't be… Reimu… Marisa's BEST friend over many years… why would she?"

"That's what Onee-chan's been asking around for without much success! She doesn't know, and she's asking every doll out there for help on why Reimu would do such a thing!"

I think I might be at fault here; I thought she would know the answer by now, and asked as though she DID know the answer, but I rushed her when she didn't know the answer even now.

This time, Hourai was panicking, and rushed her response to me via "Imouto" Shanghai: "Alice just saw Marisa being hidden near the shrine, and fled before Reimu noticed her presence. One of our comrades was left behind in her panic, and she's hiding while listening to Reimu…"

Hourai relayed the events as she received news from the comrade there, which left "Imouto" Shanghai to translate for me.

"…Something about… Haru… never putting him down… how he's hers forever…"

Wait, that name!

"Wait, Haru? As in Yamato Haru?"

I asked her.

"Huh, Yamato Haru? What does he look like?"

I laid out the description about him from last I saw him; a plain ordinary person, who looks like the ideal person for misfortune to hit at any given moment, a coward who was not good at making friends, and deathly afraid of yandere personality.

"Imouto" Shanghai relayed these details to Hourai to confirm with the comrade out there at the shrine. The response was rather swift.

"Onee-chan says he fits the description perfectly. Reimu even muttered that exact name while cuddling with him. You know him?"

Oh, gods. Oh, gods. Oh, gods. What is Alice going to do to me when she'd find out about all this? My legs almost gave way before I got a hold of the handrails beside the staircase. She would probably want to torture me, extract all information she could from me—which was not a lot—and then kill me in the slowest, most excruciating way possible.

But there was nothing I could do if she ever decided to do that. I was helpless in front of her, and the dolls—Shanghai and Hourai—would never disobey their creator.

I steadied my breath and tried to regain my balance. It was successful, partially, as I could support myself with my grip firmly on the handrails, but my legs were still on strike. "Uh… um, yes. Yamato-kun was a victim of bullying in a neighboring class a couple months ago, but recently became popular for becoming the boyfriend of Tanaka Miyu, one of the more popular girls in his class."

"Our comrade was just picked up by Alice, and being brought back here as fast as she can; she's absolutely terrified at seeing what she just saw. Onee-chan's trusting you to keep quiet about this, and pretend you haven't heard this from us. Please, help Alice where we can't help right away; it's your turn to help Alice where she helped you."

Hourai trusted me. Shanghai trusted me. The dolls had my support. If they could trust me and help me, while have unquestioned love for their creator Alice, I could certainly do the same for Alice.

I could do the same for Alice, regardless of what she could do to me if she finds out.

* * *

The night was young, but it was already unbearable. Alice had just stormed into the house, slamming the door against the wall with such force that it slammed shut itself having rebounded from the collision. She made a beeline to her room, and with the same force opened and shut the door to it, rattling every window in the house and probably shattering a few teacups by shaking the house so much that they would fall from the kitchen counter.

"Alice? What's wrong?" I asked her as neutrally as I could, even though I knew what was going on. I leaned against the door to her room, and listened.

She did not answer at first, but I did hear heavy breathing, and then weeping. Soon, it became sounds of unbound grief as she wailed and screamed louder than a banshee.

Hourai, Shanghai and the dolls gambled their hopes on me, an ordinary person, to help them support Alice in their place due to their "code". They probably would have placed their bets on someone else if given a chance, but I have to ask that question some other time.

"Alice? Seriously, what's wrong?" I asked again, hoping for _some _kind of answer, but Alice did not provide. Knocking on the door did not yield any results, so I had to turn in for the night, and hope she would talk to me about it tomorrow.

I told "Imouto" Shanghai about this to relay to Hourai, and both of them seemed to nod in agreement. "I'm sorry, but I can't help her tonight; she needs time alone; humans need that after a big shock hits them."

"By the way, why did you ask me for help, out of all the people in Gensokyo?" I had to ask them.

"Marisa was the first person we asked for help, during a critical moment, and she bailed on us. We didn't trust anyone for a _long_ time, but Hourai opened up to you in hopes she can get help this time around for Alice. 'Even if you're as useful as a dish rag, you're better than nothing' Onee-chan says."

What was up with her? A dish rag? Am I that worthless? Am I of such a low value to them?

I was honestly taken aback for a few moments, but then I remembered. I remembered the urgency in her eyes when she asked for my help; I remembered the frantic hand gestures she made when she tried to talk to me. She needed my help so that she would not break her code, and she knew it. Such a… degrading statement was probably due to her difficulty in dealing with me.

It was cute, in a certain way; Hourai's dishonesty was… refreshing. In any case, Alice was hurt, but I could not let her know that I knew just yet. The dolls know I could not help her because it was not the right moment; she did not want help and she certainly needed some time to get over her grief.

All I could do at the time was to pretend to be oblivious of what happened, and give her the time she deserved to deal with her grief. I was exhausted, anyway; calling it a night did not seem like a bad idea.

* * *

I woke up early on the fifth morning, and I could tell Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai seemed ready. I could not do much for Alice, except try to give back to what she gave me; at least, I could make her life a little more comfortable.

So, I got into the kitchen and tried to make a little breakfast for both of us. It was simple: rice balls with _umeboshi _in the center. Instead of a triangular shape, they were much more… spherical in shape, but they were not at all spheres; the shapes were much more abstract, with bits and pieces of rice sticking out from the sides. As for tea, I saw she had various kinds, and I was not sure which kind she liked better. I asked one of the Shanghai Dolls for help, and she pulled out one labeled "Mouthton". Thanking the helper, I followed the directions on the carton to make it work right. Hopefully.

Eventually, Alice came out of her room. The dolls noticed her faster than I did, mostly because of their "network" of communication. I only heard about this when the Shanghai helpers fled back to their original locations prior to helping me prepare something for Alice in a small attempt to help her recover. Well, I knew she was coming because of the dolls, and their "code' required them to live secret lives helping their owner and/or creator behind the scenes.

"Good morning, Alice." I greeted her as I heard her sit down at the table. There was silence, uncomfortable silence that my mind urged me to fill, yet I could not. She was still dealing with her loss.

"You know, I was worried about you, after you stormed into the house a couple days ago. What happened? Could you tell me?" I had to ask her now.

Alice was still in grief, but she perked up. "It's none of your business."

"I can't let this go, Alice. You helped me get a start on my problem, and now it's my turn to pay it back. What's bothering you? Please be honest, Alice." I insisted. I was not about to back down after a little resistance. She was surprised; perhaps my insistence was not at all expected.

"I wanted to know what was bothering you last night, but let it go because it wasn't the right time. Please, tell me what's wrong… so that I can help you get over whatever it was that troubled you… just like how you helped me. You should be fine enough to tell me what's bothering you right now, right?"

Alice was on the verge of tears again, but took a moment to avert her eyes. I must push harder; her defenses were buckling. "If your dolls were alive, would they try to help you the way I am trying to help you right now? Would you push them away like you are pushing me away when they're trying to help you?"

She winced as though in pain. I think I nailed the problem right there; she would have confided this loss with her dolls, but not with me. She raised her hand, ready to slap me, but stopped just before swinging her hand to my face.

I held her head close to my chest and let her cry her heart out.

"It must've been pretty bad… whatever happened to you. You were my support yesterday, let me be yours today." I whispered into her ear as gently as I could.

In the corner of my eyes, I saw Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai keeping an eye on me closely. They were nervous about the relationship between me and her growing closer than that between her and them, so I mouthed to her to relay to Hourai: "_She's in pain, I'm not taking advantage of her. It's a human comforting thing_."

I think "Imouto" Shanghai got the message, and relayed that to Hourai. The red-dressed doll seemed to have loosened up a little, and then returned to watching Alice with worry.

"Are you settled down now? Please, tell me what's wrong, Alice. If the Shanghais were alive, they'd be worried, especially if Hourai was alive."

Alice calmed down enough and began to explain her problem though the last remaining tears she had after a full thirty minutes of sobbing. To me, however, it felt like an eternity.

"It's Marisa… she was killed. Reimu… I don't know why she would kill her… but I know it's her that killed Marisa."

It was exactly as the dolls said. Hearing this was an untold cue from the dolls; I had to play the part of "did not know" to prevent Alice from figuring out I _did _know, not to mention the possibility of her thinking that I had a part in killing Marisa and set it up at this stage of her recovery.

"Reimu? You mean Hakurei Reimu? That's not right… Why would she kill her _best friend_? It's common sense for all of Gensokyo to know that she's Marisa's best friend. Nothing set them apart… ever."

"That's what I thought too, but something happened to cause her to attack Marisa."

"Did Reimu have her own friend?" There was a train of thought that I had to investigate.

"No. I don't remember. Why, how does this relate?" As expected.

"You took me in, and Danielle was taken in by Marisa. I think Reimu also took in a friend for herself if the pattern fits from four days ago. Everyone in Gensokyo took one of us human villagers for themselves, and I think they fought over us as if we're some kind of prize. I don't really know, but I'm just guessing based on what you told me, and what I remembered four days ago when I saw you and many other girls take us human villagers away."

I made my guess right there. I knew I had some possible answers there, but I was quite sure every big-name Gensokyo girl out there took one of us human villagers for themselves. Alice, while still resting her head on my breasts and getting the last of her tears out, began to consider my explanation.

"If what you said… was true… was she killed… because she tried to steal Reimu's human villager?"

"I don't know, but I think that might be the case. There are cases in the village that lead girls to get in cat fights with one another over boys they like, but I think the human world took this another step in making it a big deal, almost to where Reimu did what she did, which was killing to keep the boy they like for themselves. That's what I think anyway, but I don't know unless I know more."

Alice seemed to have taken _her_ first step in recovering from the shock of losing Marisa. It's a bigger step for her to take than I did for my pediophobia. I wanted to relay this to Alice last night about a lead, but I was not sure if this would be the right time.

"Anyway, I read a book once about this hill covered in poison. Does something live there?" At this moment, changing the subject of conversation sounded good. Besides, I needed to find out that information, too. Some intelligence gathering would not hurt.

Alice looked up at me with a concerned face. "Why? Is there something there?"

I began explaining my variation of the dolls' rumor.

"I think the book said there's a youkai that lives off poison there, and might know how to cure my mother's illness-induced amnesia."

"You're talking about Nameless Hill, aren't you? There's nothing there, and Marisa only told me about a poison youkai living there. She told me the name of that Youkai was Medicine Melancholy, but said it was a puppeteer like me, and that she _hates_ humans. She wasn't sure of what kind of youkai it was, but I'm sure that's all that lives there."

Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai in the corner out of Alice's sight had an immediate reaction to hearing the name "Medicine Melancholy', and began signaling me to come over to them as soon as possible. Apparently, at this moment, I think this "youkai' wasn't really a youkai; it might be the doll Alice, the dolls themselves, and myself are looking for. That's just a guess right now, but I need to confirm this with "Imouto" Shanghai and Hourai later.

"Was that all that you remember of this youkai?" I had to ask for clarification.

Alice nodded. "Yes. There's nothing more I know about this youkai, except to move on; it's not related to your past."

"I'm just wondering, what if this youkai was actually that doll we're looking for?" I raised the possibility to her. I did not know any more than this as a thought; I'm going by Hourai's and "Imouto" Shanghai's reactions to help me open this line of thinking to Alice, without telling her or hinting that the dolls think that as well.

"That youkai? Being a doll youkai? The same one we're looking for? I seriously doubt that as a coincidence. What makes you think the Nameless Hill poison youkai is our doll?"

I had to stop there. If I said anything about her dolls tipping me off, it was "game over" for me, my life, and the end of the secret lives of the dolls. And because of that, Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai definitely looked at me with great scrutiny.

"I just want to know. If it's just a regular poison youkai, we might ask him or her if he or she knows about my father's killer. If it's our doll, we can both finish what we want from it. If there's nothing there, then I was foolish for asking." I was being economical with the truth again. It helped open the possibility to Alice without tipping her off.

"I see. I'm a little reluctant to get going, but if curiosity's worth dying for, I think it best we brave the question. Let me get ready, and we'll check out Nameless Hill in an hour. Be ready for fighting if this youkai is aggressive; that sword of yours will be a spell card you can use in accordance to the spell card system. If you know basic danmaku, you should be able to hold your own." Alice let herself off me and went to her room to get ready. Right after she left, Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai snuck past her towards me. Their faces seemed to be that of praise, but also of satisfaction that I was doing my job for them while keeping their secret.

"Suzie, that youkai Alice mentioned is the name of our traitor to dollkind; Onee-chan's absolutely sure of it. Medicine Melancholy was an exceptional doll who was once owned by a young girl named Fujiwara no Mokou many centuries ago. Fujiwara kept Medicine as a "friend' after losing her family, friends, and place in life, but then abandoned Medicine when she became immortal, and found Kaguya Houraisan for revenge. Many years passed, and the abandoned Medicine became a cursed doll with a life of its own, out for revenge."

"Imouto" Shanghai relayed Hourai's explanation to me about Medicine.

"Abandoned, Medicine grew to hate humans since she saw the same pattern over and over again; girls grow old and abandon the dolls they played with when they were children. This became her reason for hating humans, and none of us dolls can argue with that reason; we do eventually become abandoned, but get recycled or passed down to the next generation of humans. Some of us dolls are given to Alice, where she takes care of us and turns us into Shanghai Dolls. Medicine knows this, and refuses to become a Shanghai Doll; She will _not_ become one of Alice's dolls, whether intact or a Shanghai doll. To her, Alice is another girl who will eventually abandon her Shanghai Dolls and move onto other things."

I could sympathize with Medicine's seclusion, but I did not exactly know how it felt to be abandoned and ignored. Either case, she was a criminal to the dolls, and I needed to get back at her for my parents.

"Also, Suzie… you might want to suggest to Alice to bring along Goliath Doll. Medicine isn't called 'exceptional' for nothing; She and her own doll are deadly together. Onee-chan fought Medicine before when she was lost, and they were evenly matched. Also, ask Alice to teach you how to 'control' us. Let her teach you a bit, but let us do our fighting while pretending to control us when we get there. You'll understand this when you play along."

Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai relayed to me before fleeing back to their location prior to sneaking out of place to relay all that information to me.

I nodded in agreement, and began to work my part of their plan, but to be honest, I was not not a great schemer, so I'm going by the dolls' plan.

* * *

It was the start of the afternoon, and I knew I had to act fast to be ready for the confrontation against Medicine. Alice left her room in her battle garments. It was not any different from her normal clothes much, aside from her clothes being made of sturdier materials, some more protective gear like leather gauntlets and shoulder guard that were simple in design.

"Alice, I know this is sudden, but I want to take a big step in my fear… and learn to control dolls like you do."

Judging by her looks, she must have thought that I was insane. "Why ask me this now? I expected you to ask me this a couple days from now when you are more comfortable with Shanghai Dolls."

"I want to try it out, see if I can learn how you did that, maybe help you if we have to fight."

Alice sighed when I explained this. "This is a big step… and I'm not sure if you're ready for this; I don't want you to faint upon trying something bigger than you can handle."

"Please, let me try." I would not let up. I was only told to learn this a few moments ago by the dolls themselves, but I could not let my fear stop me in these few moments. I could tremble in fear and horror for as long as I want after this.

Alice simply sighed, went over to pick up "Imouto" Shanghai's ring string controller and gave it to me. "Put this on one of your fingers, and channel your thoughts of movement towards Shanghai. This Shanghai was my training doll to learn how to emulate the concept with real magic, so I think you can learn something similar later if you pick up a similar kind of magic."

I slid the ring string controller on my left hand's pinkie finger slowly, afraid of what might go wrong, and picked up "Imouto" Shanghai. She winked at me while her face was well out of Alice's sight, and I knew what she had in mind: learn the basics now, and then let her do the work under the guise of "beginner's luck" later when it would be time to face off against Medicine. For the moment, I need to work with "Imouto" Shanghai and learn to manually control her.

I did as she instructed, and thought of the command to make her perk up and do some walking back and forth. Sure enough, I felt myself being spiritually connected with "Imouto" Shanghai, and it felt like a spirit taking over the body of the target.

From the moment I thought to command "Imouto" Shanghai, I felt a part of my mind was sucked into the doll's body, and that part of my mind became engraved in her body. It was like an extension of myself in astral projection; my main body being where it is, while the doll was like a second body for me to control.

This feeling of "remote control" was new, and exciting for me. I've never felt or experienced the possibility of having a part of myself be in control of something aside from my body.

Trying this sensation for the first time, I did some commands to her as I said earlier; "Imouto" Shanghai definitely did get up and walked around the table. The feeling was enjoyable, and I think this was a bigger step I have taken towards getting over my fear.

Unfortunately, I had to stop myself, and told myself to cut my control of "Imouto" Shanghai short.

"Fun huh? I had that same feeling when I tried it the first time after learning to control dolls with my own magic."

"Yeah, it feels fun to be in control of a doll, making it move to your will."

"Be sure to remember that feeling; it's a basic technique for puppeteer magicians. I taught two humans my technique, but they claimed my method for themselves. I trust you to won't steal this technique for yourself and take credit?"

"I won't. I'm not like those idiots who steal other people's ideas and take credit for themselves. I just want to learn this so I can help you in battle if necessary."

Alice nodded her head as though saying "good'.

"That's ambitious, though I think I have to put off Nameless Hill until tomorrow; learning to control dolls is easy, but using them in battle will take some practice."

I nodded. "I'll try, Alice. Please be sure to train me hard."

"I think you've gotten over the majority of your fear with an understanding of them, from what I see. Whether you have overcome your pediophobia completely or not… I don't know."

I thought she has a point; my fear of dolls certainly seemed to have been overcome. "I think it's like you said; I misunderstood them, and needed time to learn WHY I was afraid of them. Though that one killer doll still haunts me, I think I can face it a little better if I come across it again."

"Good, now then, let's get Hourai connected to you." Alice got Hourai's ring string controller. I put it on my left hand's ring finger, next to "Imouto" Shanghai's ring string controller.

I was right-handed, so I thought I should play the two of them like a combat mage; using my "familiars" with my left hand when I did not need to get close and physical with my family heirloom, the "Blade of Tostuka' as my family called it.

Actually, at that moment, I thought that giving it a new name would not be a bad idea:"_Katana-no-Ningyou_… I think my family heirloom's due for a name change right about now."

"Hm? What's this about Dolls?" Alice muttered, perking up at the mention of "doll".

"Sorry, it's my family heirloom's new name now."

The Sword of Dolls, formerly named the Ten Hands Long Blade, whose previous name was forgotten. To be honest, the family heirloom kept getting its name changed with each generation, and it was a pointless tradition to have each successor give it a new name, but I thought I would pick up that tradition for the last time and make it a milestone of my life here. It would also be my physical symbol of overcoming my pediophobia, as a reminder of the help I got to overcome this, as a reminder that I was never alone, that there were people out there who were kind enough to help others. This sword…was me.

I could continue life with a better outlook, but there was one more thing I need to do before I can live my life as Alice's partner. I had to face the past itself, get rid of Medicine Melancholy, and avenge my parents. My friends—no, comrades—were the Shanghai Dolls, with "Imouto" Shanghai and Hourai as my informants to what went on while I keep the dolls' lives secret.

Sadly, I had to return to training with Alice.

"Controlling two dolls at the same time is tricky, as you have to divide your attention between the two of them. Remember what you did with the Training Shanghai doll? Do the same, but to Hourai at the same time as you do to Shanghai." Alice instructed.

The afternoon training went smoothly, as I learned to manually control them. Hourai looked to the side with her eyes, and I felt as though it was a strange moment with her; but then, she gave me the look of trust before letting herself get ready for being taken over. As usual, she did this while facing me, and away from Alice.

I did as instructed, and tried to get myself in control of Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai. It was hard to get right the first time, and I took control of neither.

"It's not easy to control two at a time huh? It will take some practice, but you'll get the hang of it."

"That's right. It's not easy, Alice. How do you manage to control the twenty or so dolls around you?"

"Oh, I just do that now every day, only needing twenty at a time. When you learn to control multiple dolls at a time, being able to control several will come naturally over time. It's best to learn how to divide your attention among them first, and then you'll be able to control them while you're doing your own things once you get the hang of controlling them first."

Alice's explanation would've been absurd and abstract, if it wasn't for the first-hand experience I had in trying this earlier.

Anyway, I gave this a try again, dividing my attention between Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai. Fortunately, I was able to take control of both of them this time. I could not see what they saw, but I had control of their movements. It felt awkward, especially since I was controlling them both at the same time, but I thought they wanted me to learn this manually to convince Alice to let me join her in the fight and learn her fighting style. The dolls, however, would take over and do the fighting themselves, leaving her to think that I had mastered her techniques during the moment of truth. I thought that was their plan, and I had to place my bets on them.

"_Hey, Suzie, can you hear me__?_" I thought I heard "Imouto" Shanghai's voice in my head while controlling her and Hourai.

"_About time I can finally talk to you, half-useful human_." I think I also heard Hourai's voice this time.

…

Wait, was that telepathy?

"I thought I heard someone calling me." I muttered quietly.

"Hm? You thought you heard someone? I doubt that since it's just you and me here, Suzie." Alice responded.

"_Oh, Hourai can finally speak with you, Suzie. Alright, Onee-chan, speak your mind_."

"_Listen, Suzie; we can communicate directly if you're connected to us, whether you're in control of us or not through that controller you're wearing. It _has _to be ours to communicate with us; Alice can't hear our thoughts, so you need to think your thoughts to me or my imouto to talk to us directly_."

This explanation seemed rather far-fetched, but I thought they were trying to keep me informed this way; their planning ahead and sneakiness amazed me how hard they tried to communicate with me without Alice knowing about their "network" and "secret" lives with their doll code.

"_Okay_… _so, what's going on__?_" I thought to both of them.

"_Listen, Suzie, leave the fighting and stuff to me, my imouto, and my imouto's comrades. All you need to do is watch our backs. Don't take control of us when we get out there to fight Medicine Melancholy; let us fight, but help us keep an eye on Su-San, Medicine's own doll. They love to tag-team their enemies, and that's where your help comes in. If you can keep track of their movements and relay them to us, we can coordinate our comrades better. Well, the ones Alice gives you to control anyway. Be sure to push your training to control 8 more by tomorrow, and I think we might be able to stand a chance. Alice won't bother fighting her; she'll want to take Medicine home to study her. As much as we want her to advance on the autonomous doll project of hers, we can't allow Medicine to remain in Gensokyo_." That was Hourai's explanation this time. I had to practice controlling both of them while they communicated to me their plan to avoid letting Alice figure out the dolls are talking to me.

"_Alright, Hourai. That's the battle plan tomorrow? Controlling ten dolls at the same time might be a stretch as to what I _can _do right now, but_…_"_

Hourai then interrupted: "_You _have _to get it right, you half-wit! Get it done today, and then you don't have to worry about it in the future; we will take control of your squad while you stand on the side and watch our backs and help us there. Get that right, and you can take it easy from there; you _need _to convince Alice that you can manage ten of us at a time, so the thought of us being alive and acting on our will doesn't cross her mind when it's showtime_."

Yikes! Hourai _really _had this planned out in great detail.

"_I'm sorry, Suzie. If we had time to spare, Hourai wouldn't be pushing you this hard for everyone's sake_." "Imouto" Shanghai relayed to me.

"Hey, are you alright, Suzie?" My thoughts were interrupted when Alice called out to me.

Breaking my train of thought with them for a moment, I responded to Alice: "Sorry, I'm trying to get the hang of controlling both at the same time, and I think it's not as complicated as I thought it was."

Again, the economics with the truth.

"I think you have a talent for this that you didn't know about, but let's try controlling five dolls." Alice complimented and then brought three more Shanghai Dolls and their ring string controllers. I put the controllers on the rest of my left hand fingers. Specifically, I placed them on my middle, pointer, and thumb fingers. Then, I tried to establish the connection with all five of them at the same time. It took longer than simply connecting to both Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai, perhaps due to a "synchronization' thing between puppeteer and puppets.

Eventually, I was connected to all five of them spiritually. I know it's kind of magic to be controlling them, but I call it being connected spiritually because it's the closest thing to an explanation I can give for myself.

"_Good, you got three comrades into our network with you_." I heard "Imouto" Shanghai say to me.

"_I'm in… a network__?_" I asked "Imouto" Shanghai curiously.

"_Our network isn't just limited to communicating between dolls verbally or by strings; we can establish private networks of sorts like this if we wanted to, but we don't do it because most of the time, our owners or creators would often hear our thoughts, thus tipping them off that we are alive. Please, try to master controlling the five of us at the same time so you can convince Alice to let you go with her."_"Imouto" Shanghai answered hastily through our thoughts.

While hearing this from "Imouto" Shanghai, I had to practice their simultaneous manual movements to keep Alice believing I'm making progress.

"_Good luck, Suzie__!_" I heard the thoughts of the three Shanghai dolls cheering me on.

I remembered the gamble Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai made to try and get me to be their human mediator. They were counting on me to keep my end of the bargain, and I would not let them down.

"_Let me try ten now. Hold on_." I thought to Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai, and just as I did that, the connection with them was cut.

"If I can control ten, can you let me fight alongside you if the need arises, Alice?" I asked her sternly.

"If you can that is. You struggled a bit to control five at the same time, but if you can handle ten, then yes, I think you should be safe in battle with me. Though I think taking ten at a time is rather over-the-top for what you can do; even I struggled to control ten on my first day. Slow down, Suzie. I know you want to fight, but aren't you rushing this practice?" She was a little bit surprised, I suppose, but it was only natural, because even I thought it was a little bit too ambitious.

"I want to be ready for the worst-case scenario. Tomorrow's when we leave, right? I have to be ready by then."

I had to show her my determination. Hourai told me that poison youkai living on the Nameless Hill might be our target, and I wanted to be ready now so that if Medicine _were _there, I could fight her.

Alice sighed in defeat: "Alright, though I don't expect you to get it right, I'll see how you can fare."

Reluctantly, she handed me five more ring string controllers. These I put on my right hand fingers. Like before, I began to synchronize my spirit with the ten dolls. It took twice as long as before, and twice as hard on my focus.

"_Good, you half-useful lump. You got to synch with ten of us. Just work all of us today, and leave the __control of us to ourselves tomorrow. You have to convince Alice you have control of all ten of us, or she'll think something's up. Do this much and I think we can work together tomorrow; the eleven of us_… _Medicine needs to own up to her "crime' as you call it, you get your revenge, and we can go our separate ways_."

Just as Hourai said that to me through the doll network "thoughts', I could see her looking away while saying the last sentence.

"_Alright, so you're going to take the lead, Hourai__?_" I asked her through this network.

"_Yes, you'll just be watching our backs, informing us of sneak attacks by Su-San. We've discussed this several times. I'll be coordinating the attack. Just make it LOOK like you're in control of us so Alice doesn't get suspicious_." And then at that moment, I finally understood my role in the confrontation that would happen the next day.

While I was confirming the plan with Hourai, who I must admit had an eccentric way of responding to me, I had to focus on making this _look_ convincing to Alice of my progress.

The most I could do at the moment was to make all ten dolls walk around and float aimlessly in directions I could only coordinate in my thoughts, which was pretty much the controls Alice told me were.

I reckoned I had a good grasp on the controls for Hourai, "Imouto" Shanghai, and the regular Shanghais.

* * *

Unfortunately, when I realized the time, it was evening hours. Alice worked on the next stage of this doll training.

"You have the basics down, apparently. Learned quite fast, which is surprising for a non-magic user. Then again, you're using the training equipment that shows you how it's supposed to work in practicality. Oh well, it's time you learned to hold your own using the dolls." She began. "Remember how you controlled them? Now make sure you use them in a more practical manner; I'm going to come at you with my Shanghais, and you focus on keeping each Shanghai of yours alive for a while. This includes Hourai; keep all ten of them alive for thirty seconds."

I nodded.

"_Crap_… _Alice is serious; she's testing you, Suzie. You _cannot _fail this one_." I heard "Imouto" Shanghai relay to my head directly through the "network" they use.

I nodded again, this time a little slower, and readied myself.

I could not rely on the dolls for help this time. Alice seemed to be focused on my movements, and if she caught me slacking with the dolls moving on their own, it would be all over.

This would be the start. Alice brought out one Shanghai Doll from behind her and pointed it threateningly at me. Had I still been pediophobic at the level I was at before spending time with Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai, I would have fainted right there on the spot.

"_Good luck, Suzie. Show Alice how serious you are so we can get moving and finish this up tomorrow_."

I heard "Imouto" Shanghai cheer.

"_Show Alice who's boss, half-useless human_."

I still could not get used to the strange manners in which Hourai conversed, but that would come with time as well, I thought. It was do-or-die time: my first confrontation with dolls, and I would have my own to fight against them.

Alice began shooting danmaku from her Shanghai doll, and I had to move all ten of the dolls under my control to safety.

I wish Hourai, "Imouto" Shanghai, and the regular Shanghai dolls would help me out, but such a thing would not work if Alice were as observant as the dolls were making her out to be.

Alice's attack pace picked up, shooting more danmaku my way, and I had to move around, while also moving my comrades with me to have all eleven of us avoid taking a hit.

Twenty-five seconds remaining.

The attack pace did not let up, but it changed patterns this time, requiring more focus from me to maneuver the dolls between the danmaku to keep each one alive.

As hard as it was to manage to keep two from danger, 10 is quite a lot to manage in tense situations like this, even if it's training or a test.

Twenty seconds remaining.

Hourai, "Imouto" Shanghai, oh, how I wished they could help me at the moment!

Alice's pace picked up and brought out two more Shanghai Dolls. Moving the left hand squad a bit to the right to get closer to the right hand squad, I thought it would be easy if they acted as one unit in one place.

Adjusting for bullet pattern, I lined up my squads so they could weave in and out in a curve bending according to the patterns.

Fifteen seconds left, and Alice was busting out the big guns.

"Doll Sign: Shanghai."

Now there were ten Shanghai Dolls on her side, equal to the number of dolls on my end.

I would _definitely_ faint for a day had I still been afraid of them. Fortunately, I could play this like Chess somehow and focus on getting each doll through the danger of danmaku.

Hourai and "Imouto" Shanghai were up at this moment, so I had to move them close to avoid the majority of the danmaku from the Shanghais on Alice's side, but then she switched over to third, fourth and fifth Shanghais on her side, which I had to move mine more spread out since she was concentrating fire towards the middle.

Ten seconds left.

Alice now brought the fight to my right hand's squad, all five of them all at once. This time, she pulled something I did not expect: each of the five Shanghai dolls opened fire at the dolls on my side.

This was hard for me to keep track of all at once, but I knew I _had _to overcome this to win Alice's trust and convince her I have some talent. Either way, I worked what I could, spreading out my squad of Shanghai dolls to avoid most of the fire.

Five seconds left. I only needed to hold out a little while longer and keep my focus in top shape.

I took a deep breath and beheld her movements. Her dolls were weaving between each other, spraying out streams of bullets as it

T-minus four.

I had to scramble the team randomly in positions this time; they all were spread out pretty far.

T-minus three.

Her dolls tracked their targets' new positions. I got this. I just shuffled the positions of the dolls to safer spots for this moment.

T-minus two.

As I thought, they each had a particular target in mind, so I just had to shuffle them again out of danger.

T-minus one.

All I needed to do is scramble them one more time out of danger, and it's over.

That's exactly what I did upon seeing an opening for the dolls; I took that chance, and scrambled the positions one last time.

Blast off.

Alice's spell card timed out, and she put away her ten Shanghai dolls.

"I underestimated you… you're a quick learner, but your strategies are a bit on the beginner's side. It's not a bad start for you. I'll let you have Hourai and the Shanghais for tomorrow's exploration at Nameless Hill." She complimented as the test was over.

"_Impressive_… _Suzie_… _You actually held out. I guess you aren't as useless as I thought. Alice won't be suspicious of us now that we're with you. Though you have to wake up early tomorrow and pretend you're practicing when Alice wakes up so she will think you're practicing; it will let us move more freely in battle and with better coordination when she sees your practicing. Trust me on this_." Hourai said to me telepathically, even though it was not true telepathy.

"_Phew_… _I didn't think I would be able to hold out in the first place. Though I wish you could help me even for a moment__!_" I complained back with a whine.

Alice, fortunately, retreated back to her room when I thought that back to Hourai.

"Oh, Alice. Bring your big guns tomorrow; I don't know how strong this poison youkai is, so please get ready… something like your strongest doll?" I asked her quickly, shifting my attention to her before she was completely in her room.

"Hm? You mean like Goliath Doll? I don't see a need for her if it's just a trip there to check something." Alice shot back.

"I just have this feeling… and I just feel it… She's there… I think… I just feel… my father's killer is there… I want to be ready… at full force… with your help… to get rid of her… if she's there… Please Alice."

I was desperate at this point. I wanted her help. She seemed to be taking this lightly, as a simple trip to a random location. I wanted to tell her Medicine was there for sure; I wanted to drop this pretense, to stop being so economical with the truth and just speak my heart out to her. After all, it was not like these truths were going to feed me when I was hungry.

Yet I could not.

"_Hey_… _Suzie, I know you want to go there badly, and have Alice ready, but_… _you can't be desperate like this_." "Imouto" Shanghai said to me via "telepathy'.

"No… you're right, Suzie… I should be ready… I don't know what's out there, and my confidence was telling me I'd be fine with just Shanghai protecting me." That statement from her caught me and my doll squad off guard.

Did she realize how serious I was?

"I think… I understand one thing… if your hunch is right, then we may have to fight to get cooperation from the poison youkai."Alice muttered.

"If that youkai is really Medicine Melancholy… I won't hold back one bit; I will make sure nothing remains of her." My determination was strong, I made sure Alice burned this through her head.

"I see. If Medicine does live on that hill… Unfortunately… I might have to defend her until I get my answers."

I believe that will be imminent, Alice; I thought.

"_I'm sorry it's come to this, "Imouto" Shanghai, Hourai, and the Shanghais with me; we are going to have to fight Alice at full force when that comes if you want your revenge on Medicine. Please tell me what YOUR choice is from now so I don't make the mistake of breaking our deal with you, or betraying you all_." I said to my ten dolls via "telepathy' (their "network').

I did not get an answer right away. Alice retreated back to her room, and I had to wait for the dolls' answer to this question.

Whether my comrades are willing to fight Alice for their way of life to be avenged, and for my sake… or to remain faithful to Alice and pass up this chance I wanted my entire life to have…

That was what they were thinking about at the moment; I was sure of it.

"_Hourai__?_" I asked her again.

"…_. I'm still thinking, dammit! I don't know what to do right now! If we defect from Alice, we'll just be as bad as Medicine is_… _but if we stay with Alice and abandon this opportunity, we would be betraying you, who we put our hopes and trust in__!_"

Hourai shouted through "telepathy' to me.

Apparently, this was one situation I think even she wasn't prepared for.

"Imouto" Shanghai also seemed equally distressed at this fork in the road they have to choose.

"_I'm sorry, Suzie. The ten of us need to talk alone overnight. We'll tell you our decision when we come to an agreement. From there, Hourai will tell you what to do_." "Imouto" Shanghai informed me before cutting herself loose from my control.

Hourai and the other Shanghai dolls also did the same, removing their ring string controllers from my hands. I retired with them to my room.

The decision to make was heavy for them; the ten dolls who had to make the ultimate decision to defect and become traitors for the right cause, or remain faithful and break the trust they built with me to help Alice for them.

Even I was distressed at the thought of turning against Alice for my own desire of revenge.

Either way, I hoped my comrades would make a choice for the best, for it would never be a beneficial decision for both of us at the same time: with either choice, someone loses, and I had to live with it.

Hurt Alice even more and get revenge for my father, or let all my efforts be in vain and help Alice with her research and recover from the loss of Marisa, her formerly close friend.

I figured I would wait for their answer in the morning, clear my mind and await morning in a couple hours.

* * *

END OF CHAPTER

(P.S. Another hanging spot, but this one's NOT the end of Alice's story. I have to split the chapter in half from here, and work on the other half later. This is part 2 of Suzie's story)


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